Busy Busy Bee

I've gone full-throttle into baking for the holidays and the madness has just begun.

Eggnog is usually a Christmas staple, if you're into that thing. I however, am not a huge fan of it. I like to think I like it, but I can't drink an entire glass, it's too rich. After seeing a recipe for "Melt in Your Mouth Eggnog Cookies" I had to try it. Just a touch of eggnog couldn't hurt, right? 

The recipe calls for rum extract and the first time I made them I didn't have rum extract and didn't feel like trekking out in the snow to get it, so I uses almond. The almond extract worked pretty well, I was pleasantly surprised. Second time around however, I made it with rum extract and it was so much better! Eggnog has a similar flavor to the rum extract which brought it out even more without having to use too much, especially in the frosting. Putting too much liquid will otch your icing so the extract gave the eggnog a little help in standing out. 

It's perfect for the holidays whether you love eggnog or like to think you love it. 

After making these I had some eggnog left and wanted to incorporate into something else. I started making peanut butter cookies, adding some peanut butter chips to the batter and thought maybe some eggnog frosting/glaze would go well. I was nervous about the two flavors mixing but they worked out pretty well. 

The peanut butter and the eggnog complimented each other well. The eggnog balanced out all of the peanut butter and visa versa and they turned out even better than I thought!

Special Treat for a Special Kiddo

So long story short, a friend of mine's daughter was pretty sick for awhile and I wanted to make her something for when she felt better. I've kinda go a knack for this baking thing so I asked what her favorite candy or flavor was and if she was a cupcake or a cookie gal. After given dark chocolate and cookies as clues, I whipped up a quick and easy but delicious treat.

I didn't want to bake a chocolate chunk cookie. While delicious, they can be boring and predictable especially since I've kind of created a reputation for myself. And, I found out anyway that she ended up making chocolate chip cookies herself the day before. So I went with one of my favorites, oatmeal. I must admit, I'm not a fan of dark chocolate. Gasp! I know I know. It is a preferred taste but the oatmeal muffled it a little to where I actually enjoyed it.

The whole process was really simple. I got a giant bar of dark chocolate and put it into the Ninja, just long enough to chop it up but not too much. I wanted chunks, not fine shreds.

I learned pretty quick that dark chocolate melts really fast while you're dealing with it so you don't want to keep it in the chopper too long anyway. Mixing it into the batter may have been an issue too so I just crumbled the chunks of chocolate on top of each cookie before putting them in the oven. 

I was kind of worried about that decision at first because it looked like a pool of chocolate on top but it worked out nicely and turned out pretty tasty. So don't be afraid of dark chocolate if you're not a fan, there are ways to make it work. Plus, it's supposed to be good for you!

Pretty in Pink

Last Friday I had the pleasure of babysitting my three-year-old niece for a few hours and I thought, what better way to have fun than teach her my favorite hobby: baking!

This little cutie patootie is kind of partial to the color pink. Kind of as in that's all she talks about so of course we had to translate it into a cupcake. Now I'm new to the whole "pinkalicious" movement but she loves it. So I went with it and we created the Pinkalicious cupcake.

Nothing too fancy, just some food dye, sprinkles and yellow cake. But hey, pink cupcakes are a big deal.

I've decided to always make my own frosting from now on. I never really noticed how much of a difference there is before but it's definitely there. It makes my teeth hurt thinking about the stuff in a tub so I taught Erin how to make it and well, she got a little heavy on the mixer. 

After letting the cupcakes cool we were ready to frost and no pinkalicious cupcake is complete with out some pinkalicious sprinkles. I've never seen someone so excited over pink cupcakes and sprinkles but that made it all worth it. 

And there you have it, super simple cupcakes that taste great and a super fun project for you and your favorite little one. 

Tea and Crumpets? Kinda...

Crumpets are a griddle cake that pretty much look like an English Muffin and are mainly eaten in the United Kingdom with tea. Well around these parts, I bake cookies with my tea.

Let's start with the tea. Chai tea has always been my favorite, especially the chai tea lattes at Starbucks. Chai is a black spiced tea from india and the word Chai simply means 'tea' in Hindu. There are strong notes of cinnamon and cloves that stand out but also cardamom and ginger.

I wanted to play off the cloves and cinnamon aspect of the chai. I've made chai frosting before with pumpkin bars but that's a whole new ballgame that we'll get to come fall. I've ironically not been much of a fan of cinnamon but I do enjoy cinnamon sugar so I wanted to incorporate that into the cookie but not too much to where it would take away from the spiced chai flavor.

So I turned to the snickerdoodle. I haven't experimented with the snickerdoodle much but I'm glad I did. The dough is stickier and more doughy than normal cookie dough which gives it a little flakiness. I rolled the dough into balls, rolled it into some cinnamon sugar and baked about 10-12 minutes at 350.

While they were baking I made a chai glaze. It's easier than it sounds. All I used was powdered sugar, water, ground cinnamon and ground cloves. I combined everything with a whisk until I reached a taste and consistency that I wanted and dunked the cookies in. The advantage to the square shape is that it sinks a little in the middle and holds onto more of the glaze that hardens in the fridge after awhile.

I dont mean to toot my own horn but I continue to impress myself and definitely see myself making these in the future. Tea party or not.

Contact It's Hip to Be Square!

Follow It's Hip to Be Square on Twitter!

Like us on Facebook!

Fresh fruit and new coffee!

Last month I was on a mission. I had to prepare for a coffee tasting and wanted to make something that would compliment my coffee well. Luckily enough, Starbucks came out with Kati-Kati.

It means "In Between" in swahili and is the in between or balance of citrus and spice from Kenya and Ethiopia. If any of you old timers out there remember Gazebo Blend -

It's similar but wayyy better. Gazebo Blend use to be used for Iced Coffee before Tarazza came out and it was a very good acidic and citrusy coffee that only came out in the summer. I was bummed when it left but am super excited for Kati-Kati. It's very acidic, light and fresh and goes great with fresh fruit. More specifically it pairs well with lemon and strawberry. Did you see the lightbulb go off? 

I decided to make lemon cupcakes with fresh strawberry frosting. I hit some snags but it ended up being the perfect compliment to the new citrusy summery coffee. 

That snag came with the fresh strawberries. I diced 'em up and thought I'd toss 'em in the frosting while I had the mixer going. It was good until the juices from the Strawberries made the frosting soupy. I kind of panicked but just added another stick of butter and some more powdered sugar to get that consistency back. I'm thinking maybe next time just fold the strawberries into the frosting. 

Needless to say, I killed the tasting and killed a new recipe that will be used again. 

Don't have the energy to bake or can't take the extra heat? Chop up a fruit salad and it's just as good with a fresh french press. 

Also, try it iced! Just brew it at double strength, pour over ice and refrigerate. It's that easy and just as good iced. 

Contact It's Hip to Be Square!

Follow It's Hip to Be Square on Twitter!

Like us on Facebook!

Break me off a piece of that ...

I think that Kik-Kats are kind of underrated. They're not usually the first thing people think of when you say candy bar but I realized it's the perfect mix of chocolate and crunch and good consistency for a frosting. I've also had requests for red velvet cake and instead of the normal cheesecake frosting I mixed it up with some crumbled kit-kats. Simple, but delicious.

I've done red velvet before - for Valentine's Day, how cliche! - and I wanted to mix it up. I did before by adding chopped up white chocolate and chocolate chips to the frosting and white chocolate chips in the batter but anyone can make a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting. My creativity escaped and I've been thinking about what I can make with Kit-Kats and this was perfect. I LOOOVVEE Red Velvet and balancing it out with a buttery frosting with the milk chocolate from the Kit-Kats balanced it out pretty well. 

I've got quite the knack for turning candy into cupcakes. Any more ideas??

Contact It's Hip to Be Square!

Follow It's Hip to Be Square on Twitter!

Like us on Facebook!

Why don't you build me up, buttercup baby...

Now that the Foundations are in my head...

Here's a take on a couple of the best candies around; peanut butter cups and Reese's Pieces. I've always made chocolate chip cookies with Reese cups in the middle but now I've turned it into a cupcake. And I couldn't just put any old frosting on top, had to add some crunch and compliment it with it's hard shelled crunchy counterpart. 

I put them in a ziplock and crumpled them up a bit, not too much so they'd still be crunchy and added them to my normal butter, powdered sugar and vanilla frosting and it's pretty epic. But before all of that, we can't forget about the hidden treasure that is the peanut butter cup in the center of the cupcake. 

Too much? No such thing. Right out of the oven they were good and still gooey but even better after a night in the refrigerator. I've always put chocolate in the refrigerator - taking after my father who does the same - and the fridge helps hold everything together. 

And there you have it, death by peanut butter. The Reese's Pieces on top balance out the rich chocolate in the center while still keeping it in the same candy family and it's perfect for a late night sweet tooth.

Contact It's Hip to Be Square!

Follow It's Hip to Be Square on Twitter!

Like us on Facebook!

Two Pretzels were walking down the street, one was assaulted

I thought I hit a jackpot with these babies but making the impossible possible, I struck even more gold with caramel pretzel cupcakes. Not only that, I got to use my favorite gadget in the world to make the frosting.

I give you, the Kitchen Aid Mixer.

Yes, I've fallen in love with an appliance. If you bake, you understand. Not only that, the frosting could not have been easier to make. All it is is butter, powdered sugar and chopped up pretzels. The pretzel frosting pretty much makes the cupcake. Not only that, but I put a Werther's caramel chew in the middle of each one. 

I didn't get the gooey-consistency center like I expected but it turned out even better. It created a caramel coating on the bottom of the cupcake that had just enough candy crunch but not enough to where you feel like your teeth are going to fall out. 

And for the grand finale...

They went over pretty well, to say the least and I will be making them again. Perfect combo of sweet and salty and I'm kind of proud of myself for whipping this up on just a hunch and a trip to Aldi. 

Contact It's Hip to Be Square!

Follow It's Hip to Be Square on Twitter!

Like us on Facebook!

Super Simple Cobbler

Okay, I found this on Facebook and I couldn't believe how easy it was until I tried it. And how good it is. You no longer need a fire pit and a grocery bag full of ingredients to enjoy a good chunk of cobbler.

No joke, all you need is frozen berries, cake mix and 7-up. Any berries you'd like or any frozen fruit even, lay them in a cake/brownie pan and sprinkle cake mix - your own or store bought - over them. Finally, pour a can - or two - of 7-up/sprite on top. Don't stir because the bubbles will give you that crisp topping but make sure all the flour and cake mix is covered and not dry. If you don't, you'll have small groups of unbaked cake on top. The second time I made it I used two cans or a can and a half of 7-up just to be safe.

I went with blueberries because they're my favorite. It looks weird, but trust me, it's amazing. 

After that, all you need to do is bake it for 45 minutes! 

(Side note - Weight-conscious or dieting? Try sugar-free cake mix and diet 7-up!)

Second time around I sprinkled some cinnamon and brown sugar on top about before baking and it made it even crispier and perfect on top. Scoop out and serve with whipped cream or ice cream and you're done! That simple. 

(Side note - Not dieting? Try Cinnamon Swirl cake mix!)

Contact It's Hip to Be Square!

Follow It's Hip to Be Square on Twitter!

Like us on Facebook!

I bet I can turn that into a cookie...

I've been falling behind on the blogging lately, but definitely not on the baking. I've been in experimental mode and tried a new cookie last week.

It was just another day, I was sitting on the couch eating my oatmeal squares when my boyfriend and I started talking about Golden Grahams and that thought came into my head, "I bet I can turn that into a cookie..." And I did. Who doesn't love cereal and who doesn't love cookies? Boom.

It was pretty simple really. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go full-out graham cracker so I added some peanut butter. However, they could probably use a tune up. Peanut butter can be overpowering and it did overpower the cereal so next time I'll have to ease up or ditch the peanut butter completely. Gives me an excuse to make another batch ;).

Contact It's Hip to Be Square!

Follow It's Hip to Be Square on Twitter!

Like us on Facebook!

Valentine's Day and Huey

So I mayyyy have gone a little overboard last week with the baking; whipping out cupcakes, muffins, cookies and brownies but it was well worth it. I already shared the cupcakes and muffins, now let's get to the other goods.

I felt like I needed to add a little chocolate into the mix, and I'm not a fan of just plain chocolate so I had to mix it up.

I usually have butterscotch chips on hand and thought they'd be the perfect sweet touch to add to the rich chocolate and peanut butter chips in these brownies. They flew pretty quick at my boyfriend's apartment so it had to be a good combo.

This usually doesn't end well but I got into some late night baking Sunday. AKA I couldn't sleep and made a ton of cookies. Way too much... But they're cute AND delicious!

I took a sugar cookie and jazzed them up for Valentine's Day. And as my boyfriend told me, sugar cookies are underrated. I agree in that people look at a sugar cookie's bland complexion and think twice before indulging, so you gotta make them look good.

The good thing about Valentine's Day is there's always a ton of candy on sale and when I think of candy I think of what I can bake it with. I found heart-shaped chocolates that have a different filling in each one and baked them into the cookies. Anywhere from just fudge, peanut butter, caramel, crisps and even cookies and cream were in the candies and of course the heart shape made them festive and season-appropriate.

I also managed to find the right baking time so they weren't hard as a rock, it's actually pretty easy to burn a sugar cookie and making any cookie in this brownie pan can go horribly wrong and threaten to break teeth if you don't know how to bake them. Ten to twelve minutes usually does the trick, they may seem undercooked and too soft at first but when you give them time to cool they're the perfect consistency.

Before that I made the same exact ones with peanut butter. Just like too much chocolate, I'm not a fan of too much or just straight up peanut butter so the candies helped that balance out as well.

The topper to this Hallmark Holiday mood I've been in is now this classic has been stuck in my head and probably will be until the end of February. Thanks Huey!

And now I want to watch Back To The Future. Think I can make Delorean cupcakes? 

Contact It's Hip To Be Square

Follow It's Hip To Be Square on Twitter!

Like It's Hip To Be Square on Facebook!

Long time no bake!

Can't believe it's been so long since I pulled out the oven mits and got to work, but I'm back and it's been a very productive day.

First let's look back at the mini lemon loaves I made for Christmas. I knew I couldn't completely imitate the Starbucks ones but I did my best and they came out pretty darn good. Amazing what some pound cake, lemon juice and icing can do.

Instead of going with all white icing, I also made a lemon glaze. Didn't want the cake to be pure sugar so I just crosshatched some white icing so it wasn't overpoweringly sweet.

Now today, I may have broken my rule a little but it's worth it when it comes to Cinnamon Toast Crunch Muffins..

Yup, just like the cereal, only in amazing muffin form. They're not square but I got to use my killer new Wilton baking gear thanks to my wonderful boyfriend. The least I can do is make the guy some normal looking muffins, which could have been his plan all along but I'll take it!

Now, the kicker is a version of salted carmel cupcakes.

Pretty simple really, starting with just a normal pound cake recipe. While they're still warm, poke holes in them and drizzle carmel on top. Either home made or store bought carmel sauce works.

Now I wanted to make salted carmel somehow but I normally don't have sea salt on hand in the apartment and you can't pour normal salt on a cupcake. Well, you could, but that'd be kinda gross.

So I decided to chop up some pretzels and add them to the frosting.

Crazy how simple it is. It's really just butter, carmel, powdered sugar, pretzels and boom. Awesome frosting. Something I'm still pretty proud of considering I almost ditched the salted carmel idea because I didn't have sea salt. You never know what you'll find in your kitchen to turn into a cupcake.

But wait.. can't leave you hanging without a coffee suggestion. Casi Cielo is back. A medium-roast coffee from Guatemala that actually translates as "almost heaven," is the perfect sweet and smooth roast to go with salty sweet carmel.

Oh and guess what?! It's available for Keurig now too! This roast is the most elegant in the Starbucks family being paired well with gourmet desserts and better served straight. It's smooth body, dark cocoa notes was originally created exclusively for gourmet restaurants. Sounds strange but now, with cupcake in hand, bring gourmet into your kitchen!

Contact It's Hip to Be Square!

Follow It's Hip to Be Square on Twitter!