Donuts or Doughnuts. It's Whatever Name You Choose

"Hi, my name is Aaron John and I have a problem. I love donuts. There I said it. 'I LOVE DONUTS!'"

Phew, I'm glad I got that off my chest. Is there anything better than a Donut/Doughnut. BTW, is it a Donut or Doughnut? I've always wondered that...Either way, it's some delicious fried goodness. Glazed, chocolate, maple or sugar, just give me a donut and I'll be happy. Even the ones covered in glaze, chocolate, then dipped in sprinkles always find some way into my hands. Somehow, I feel sprinkles make doughnuts taste so much better than the plain jane donuts.

Donuts and I go way back and I remember it like it was yesterday. As my dad and I dropped off my older brother to kindergarten when I was a wee little child, we would always go to the 7-11 that was down the hill from our house so that he could buy me a donut. Chocolate or Maple, those were the only one's I would eat. No donuts filled with jam or cream for me. Just give me that fried bread with frosting and hold the filling, no questions asked.

When we drove back home, I stared at that donut as if that golden ring of bread was actually some sort of expensive jewelry. At the time, that donut was worth it's weight in gold to me. When we got home, my dad would go to sleep after working long night shifts and I would sit on the couch savoring every bite of that donut as I watched Nickelodeon cartoons. Now that's what I call memories.

Ever since then, donuts and I developed some sort of a relationship. When I need to get back to those memories, donuts will always be there. Call me a fat ass, donut junkie, unhealthy, diabetes bound, the man who's arteries are clogging with every bite, but sometimes, we have to live a little, right? For every pound I gain in donuts, that's a memory I was able to relive and I'm A-OK with that. Well...let's just keep it in moderation for now.

These donuts brought me right back to moments like that. These were light and fluffy, just the way I like them. Make sure you invest in a thermometer for your oil if you're making this recipe. It makes your life that much easier.

Donuts/Doughnuts

Recipe by Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients
Doughnuts
1-1/8 cup Whole Milk, Warm
1/4 cup Sugar
2-1/4 teaspoons (one Package) Instant Or Active Dry Yeast
2 whole Large Eggs, Beaten
1-1/4 stick Unsalted Butter, melted
4 cups All-purpose Flour
1/4 teaspoon Salt
Shortening

Glaze
3 cups Powdered Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 cup Cold Water Or Milk

Cinnamon Sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp to 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions
To Make the Dough:
1. Make sure milk is nice and warm, but not overly hot.
2. Add sugar to milk. Stir to dissolve.
3. Add yeast into a small bowl.
4. Pour milk/sugar mixture over yeast. Stir gently, then let sit for 10 minutes.
5. Melt butter in separate bowl until butter is almost melted. Stir to finish melting so butter won't be overly hot.
6. Add beaten eggs to melted butter, stirring constantly to make sure the butter's not too hot for the eggs.
7. Add the egg/butter mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook.
8. With the mixer on 3 or medium-low speed, pour in the yeast mixture.
9. Allow the dough hook to stir this mixture for a couple of minutes, making sure it's thoroughly combined.
10. With the mixer still going, add helpings of the flour mixture in 1/4 to 1/2 cup increments until all the flour is gone.
11. Stop the mixer, scrape the bowl, then turn the mixer on the same speed for five whole minutes.
12. After five minutes, stop the mixer and scrape the bottom of the bowl.
13. Turn on the mixer for 30 seconds.
14. Turn off the mixer and allow the dough to sit in the bowl undisturbed for 10 minutes.
15. After 10 minutes, transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Toss the dough to coat, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place straight in the fridge.
16. Refrigerate dough for at least 8 hours, or overnight.

To Make the Doughnuts: 
1. Remove bowl from fridge and turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface.
2. Roll out to 1/4 to 1/3-inch thickness.
3. Using a 3-inch cutter, cut as many rounds as you can, then roll out remaining dough and cut as much as you can, etc.
4. Cut holes out of each round using a 1 1/2-inch cutter.
5. Place both doughnuts and holes on a floured baking sheet.
6. Cover with large tea towel and place in a warm place in your kitchen; my kitchen is very drafty, so I have to briefly warm the griddle, then turn it off and set the sheets on top to keep warm.
7. Allow doughnuts to rise undisturbed for at least 1 hour; 1 hour 15 minutes if necessary. Doughuts should be visibly puffier and appear to be airy.

To Fry the Donuts/Dougnuts 
1. Heat plenty of vegetable shortening in a large pot until the temperature reaches 375 to 380 degrees---do not let it get hotter than 380 degrees! 375 is ideal; keep the thermometer in the pan to continually monitor.
2. One to two at a time, gently grab doughnuts and ease them into the hot oil. Allow them to cook 1 minute on each side; they will brown very quickly.
3. Remove doughnuts from the oil with a slotted spoon, allowing all oil to drip off.
4. Place doughnut immediately on several layers of paper towels. Count to five, then flip it over onto a clean part of the paper towels. Count to five, then flip it over again; the purpose, obviously, is to drain as much grease as possible before it soaks into the doughnut. 5. Repeat with remaining doughnuts and holes. The holes will cook more quickly than the doughnuts; about 30 seconds per side. 6. Allow doughnuts to slightly cool.

To Glaze 
1. Mix all glaze ingredients in a bowl until completely smooth.
2. One by one, dip doughnuts into the glaze until halfway submerged. (Note: completely submerge doughnut holes, then remove with slotted spoon.)
3. Remove from glaze, then turn right side up on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet (to catch dripping glaze.)
4. Serve warm if possible, or room temperature.

Using Cinnamon Sugar
1. Mix the granulated sugar with the cinnamon
2. Dip the freshly fried donuts/doughnuts into the cinnamon sugar mixture.

-Aaron John

Red Velvet Cookies

What a crazy week! If you live in the Seattle area, you would have experienced this sort of freak "Snow Storm" that occurred this past Wednesday. Sure it was cold and below freezing but I certainly didn't expect it to snow as much as it did, if at all. I mean, it's almost March!  The weather was extremely strange. At first it was raining. After, the rain died down the sun came out, deceiving all of us Seattle-ites. Soon enough the clouds rolled back in, the temperature dropped even more and that ever so classic, snow that you only see during the Holiday season in December, came falling down.

You may think that it's a good thing that there was snow. I mean Snow days?? Oh yeah! Oh wait, but UW doesn't exactly give out Snow Days as if they were free samples at Costco. Nope, the snow has to turn the hills of Seattle into Mountain Passes for them to give them out. Oh did I mention I had midterms on Thursday and Friday as well? Snow + Midterms = Bad News.

I went to bed thinking there would be school despite the snow and boy was I right. As I woke up, I took a peak out my window and the sidewalks were full of snow and the streets were icy. I took a look at the UW website only to find out that they still opened their doors for classes to start as usual. Did I make it to school? Of course! Thankfully in one piece. ha.  Now that was an adventure. Well, that pretty much sums up my week, what about you? ha.

Tips
-Instead of the Icings, I made a basic Cream Cheese Frosting.

Results
Taste: Almost exactly like a Red Velvet Cupcake. A slightly chocolate-ly cookie paired with the tang of the cream cheese frosting

Texture: Cake like cookie with crispier edges and moist center. Topped with the creamy Cream Cheese Frosting.

Red Velvet Black and White Cookies
Recipe via Rachael Ray

Ingredients
Cookie:
1-1/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature (5 tbsp for the cookie, 3 tbsp for the frosting)
 3/4 cup granulated sugar
 1 large egg
1 tablespoon red food coloring
 1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
 1/2 cup buttermilk

Icing:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
4 ounces semisweet chocolate

Downsize it:
Make mini cookies using 2-tablespoon scoops of batter

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

Using a mixer, beat 5 tablespoons butter with the granulated sugar until fluffy, 3 minutes. Beat in the egg, food coloring and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk until smooth.

Place 1/4-cup scoops of batter 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet; spread out. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, 12 to 15 minutes. Let the cookies sit for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool.

In a bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1 tablespoon corn syrup and 2 tablespoons hot water until smooth. In another bowl, combine the chocolate, remaining 3 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon corn syrup; microwave until melted, about 1 minute.

Coat the cookies with the vanilla, then the chocolate icing. Refrigerate until set, about 20 minutes.

-Aaron John

7-Up Cupcakes

Finally, the last week of the classes is here! So excited. But, we all know what comes after the last week of the classes, FINALS WEEK! With four final's that need to be taken, I need to be on my game. That's why I have to start studying now. Am I the only one that has trouble studying? It seems as if I always can find ways to distract myself for random reasons. Whether, I get up to walk around the house or go on....Facebook, I just can't seem to study. Maybe I should just lock up my laptop until I finish Finals Week. ha.

Back to what we're all here for, Food! 7-Up Cupcakes to be exact. I first heard about this type of cake years ago while watching the Food Network. I don't exactly remember how 7-Up Cake came about but I do remember Giada de Laurentiis being in the episode judging. The cake was....well....um....just read on.

Tips
-I followed the recipe exactly, including beating the butter and sugar for 20 minutes. I personally thought that 20 min was a bit much but since there's no leavening, you have to. I would assume you can add baking powder to this recipe. Maybe 1 tsp?

Results
Taste: A lemon flavored cake that is sweet but not overly sweet. The lemon glaze added just the right amount of lemon flavor and extra sweetness the the cupcakes.

Texture: The cake was actually moist and not as dense as I expected. However, there was something about the texture of the cupcakes that I didn't like. I don't exactly know what it is but I think it may have been because there was no leavening agents used besides the carbonation from the soda and creaming the butter and sugar. The texture was off to me. Maybe it's just me...

7-Up Cake (Makes 1 Bundt Cake)
Recipe Found Through Food.com
Ingredients
Cake:
3/4 lb butter, softened
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
3 cups flour
2 tablespoons lemon extract
3/4 cup carbonated lemon-lime beverage


Lemon Glaze:
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Cream butter and sugar together for 20 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Next, add flour and lemon extract. Fold in 7-Up.

Pour cake batter into a well-greased 12-cup Bundt pan or tube pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Make Lemon Glaze by mixing powdered sugar and lemon juice together. When cake is cooled, dribble with Lemon Glaze.

-Aaron John

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Pumpkin Cupcakes With Maple Cream Cheese Frosting And A Giveaway!

So the past two days have been SNOW DAYS here in Seattle! That makes my Thanksgiving break extended by 2 days! Yay! Speaking of Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving is here! Well, it's tomorrow but still...Thanksgiving is here!! I don't know about you but it has come just at the right time. I'm fully prepared to stuff my face with delicious food and be around family. I live for the holidays because it's one of the only times out of the year where the whole family gets together. There's just something about it that makes you all happy inside. Anywho, so it's Thanksgiving so it only seems logical to have a Thanks-giveaway! So if you haven't checked out CSN Stores after my multiple posts about CSN Stores, get to it!! Get coffee tables, a lamp, heck even get yourself a huge fountain! Whatever makes you happy. I'll talk about this later.

In honor of Thanksgiving, why not make something pumpkin related. This was my first time working with pumpkin and it was well...Interesting? ha. It was fun working with a new ingredient because I was able to increase my "Ingredient Use Count". You can read on for the end results of these cupcakes late on as well.

Now, back to what you've all been waiting for, the Thanks-Giveaway. CSN Stores is giving you the chance to win a $45 Gift Certificate for any of their online stores! I repeat, $45 Gift Certificate!! Here's how to enter:

You must be a follower of "AJ's Cooking Secrets" through the Google Friend Connect located on the left side bar of my blog to enter this giveaway. If you are not a follower, your entry and/or entries will not be counted.

You have THREE chances to enter!!

1. Leave a comment stating what you would like to buy from CSN Stores with the $45 Gift Certificate, along with your email.

2. Become a fan/liker of my Facebook Fan Page : AJ's Cooking Secrets and leave a comment below stating that you have become a fan/liker. If you are already a fan/liker of my FB Fan Page, leave a comment stating that you are.

3. Follow me on Twitter @aaronjohn04 and leave a comment below stating that you have become a follower. If you are already a follower of my twitter page, leave a comment stating that you are.

Important Guidelines:

-Must be a follower of this blog, "AJ's Cooking Secrets", through Google Friend Connect located on the left side bar for your entry/entries to count. Anyone who "enters" without being a follower of this blog will not be entered into the drawing.

-The Giveaway will last until Wednesday, December 1st, 2010 at 11:59 PM PST. The winner will be drawn using Random.org. The winner will then be announced in a blog post, on my facebook page and emailed that they are the winner. From there, the winner will be contacted by CSN Stores where you will receive a Gift Certificate Code.

Tips
-It's a fairly straightforward recipe so don't over mix the batter and don't over bake your cupcakes. Stick a toothpick into the cupcake and if there's a tiny bit of crumbs that stick, it's ready to take out. Some people say to take them out when a toothpick is clean but you have to remember that the cupcakes will somewhat continue to cook because of the heat that is retained in the pan and the cupcake itself.

Results
Taste: The cupcake itself was very reminiscent of a carrot cake in terms of the flavor of the spices but with the slight flavor of pumpkin instead of carrots. I personally felt it was missing an a "lil' somethin' somethin'". The Maple Cream Cheese frosting didn't taste like Maple. Maybe because I used a tablespoon of maple syrup instead? But it was missing that Maple flavor. 

Texture: Definitely a moist cupcake because of the use of the pumpkin and the oil. The frosting was smooth and creamy.


Pumpkin Cupcakes With Maple Cream Cheese Frosting (Makes 10 cupcakes)
Recipe by Ina Garten

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup canned pumpkin purée (8 ounces), not pie filling
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Maple Frosting (recipe follows)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped Heath bars, for serving (2 1.4-ounce bars)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush or spray the top of 10 muffin tins with vegetable oil and line them with 10 paper liners.

Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin purée, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil. Add the flour mixture and stir until combined.

Divide the batter among the prepared tins (I use a level 2 1/4-inch ice cream scoop) and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely.

Spread the cupcakes with the Maple Frosting and sprinkle with the chopped toffee bits.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon Boyajian Natural Maple Flavor
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese and butter on low speed until smooth. Stir in the maple flavoring and vanilla extract. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

-Aaron John

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Black And White Cookies

Once again, I'm at the point where I'm confused about school and major. Just a month ago I said I was either going into Pre-Nursing or Biochemistry/Pre-Pharmacy. However, after receiving my Biology Midterm yesterday, I felt so depressed because I bombed it. I studied hard for this test, read the book, went over reading quizzes and practice exams, did a plethora of past exam questions and I still did badly. When going into the test, I felt somewhat confident that I can get an 80% but my grade said otherwise. 

I don't believe that the problem is me or the professor. I believe the problem is in the grading techniques of the TA's. They are brutal in grading that if one misses one part of the question, one essentially gets the whole question wrong. For instance, in one of the questions I had, it was a three part question. It was essentially simple math. The answers were t + 1/2 U, 0.13 and 0.185. My answers were t + 1/2 U, 0.06 and 0.185 which meant I only got the second part wrong. This question was worth 6 points and I only got 2 points when I had 2/3 of the question right! Shouldn't I get 4 points?! There are a bunch of these types of grading on my test. I'm definitely taking this in for a re-grade. 

Enough of my rant, but I'm still confused about what I'm going to do with my life. Why can't life be clear cut like Black and White Cookies? It's either chocolate or vanilla, the simplest flavors that are the best out there. Why can't my life be as easy as choosing whether I like chocolate or vanilla better? Why can't I get a good grade in this Biology Class? If I were to take this Biology Class somewhere else, I would probably be excelling but I guess I will never know...But most of all, where is this road of life going to take me?

Tips

-I actually had difficulty with the chocolate glaze. It didn't come together when I made it in the microwave. Now, you may be saying "This guy probably doesn't know how to melt chocolate in the microwave" but let me tell you, I have melted chocolate in the microwave 43829025489042 times without any problems. lol. In fact, because of the failure of the chocolate glaze I melted milk chocolate in the microwave and slathered it on the cookie instead. I don't know what exactly went wrong with the glaze but it ended up becoming extremely grainy. Instead of microwaving it, I would suggest using a double boiler to do it.

Results

Taste: Beyond delicious!! Chocolate Lover? Vanilla Lover? This cookie has the best of both worlds. A subtle vanilla flavored cookie that has half tasting like vanilla and the other tasting like chocolate. My personal favorite was the chocolate part. hehe

Texture: The cookie is very cake like. Somewhat crisp around the edges. The slathering of icing gives another textural difference to the cookie. Almost crisp and creamy at the same time. 

Black and White Cookies (Makes about 16 large cookies)

adapted from Gourmet Cookbook via Joy The Baker

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large egg

For Vanilla Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

1 Tablespoon light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For Chocolate Glaze:

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

3 Tablespoons butter

1 Tablespoon light corn syrup

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add eggs, beating until combined well. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

Spoon 1/4 cups of batter about 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until tops are puffed and pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack and chill (to cool quickly), about 5 minutes.

To make the glazes-

In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon of corn syrup and 2 tablespoons hot water, until smooth. That’s your vanilla glaze.

In a separate bowl, melt the butter and the chocolate in a microwave for about 1 minute. Add the corn syrup and stir until smooth. That’s your chocolate glaze!

Once the cookies are cooled, face them all bottom side up of a clean surface. Spread half of the cookie with vanilla glaze and the other half with chocolate glaze. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to set. And…Yum!

-Aaron John

My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure

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Devil's Food Cupcakes

As much as I could love to say that I'm finally done studying for midterms for a while, after taking three midterms within the last 2 weeks, I can't. :( Midterms are already back! I essentially have midterms every week until Thanksgiving. Oy Caloy!! Sounds fun, huh? Due to this, I haven't been baking as much, haven't been reading up on the blogs I follow, haven't caught up on my love for reality shows, haven't been watching the Food Network and haven't been eating a whole lot. That's why this week it's all about Devil's Food Cupcakes! I think Midterms are the devil! lol. Well, that and Halloween is tomorrow and I need something kind-of, sort-of, semi-ish Halloween related. ha. It only seems right to do. So, Happy Halloween!

Now I have to go do something scary....Homework and Studying! I bet you jumped right out of your seat just now. hehe.

Tips
-The batter will be quite thin but don't worry about it. It will become a moist cupcake after baking.
-Fill the cupcake liners to about 2/3 of the way up to prevent "stick-age" to the pan
-My Cupcakes baked in about 20 min

Results
Taste: The taste was good, not great. The cupcake itself needs an extra chocolate boost. It had a mellow chocolate flavor instead of a deep intense flavor that I wanted. The frosting needed an extra chocolate boost as well. Perhaps, about a tablespoon more cocoa powder to enhance the cake and about a teaspoon of cocoa powder to enhance the frosting will do the trick. 

Texture: An EXTREMELY MOIST cupcake!! There is definitely no dryness to this cupcake recipe. It's soft and fluffy and with that creamy chocolate buttercream, can you ask for anything more?


Devil's Food Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Buttercream
Recipe's are Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake and Milk Chocolate Buttercream by Anne Thornton
Ingredients
For the cake:
2 cups sugar
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup whole milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Frosting:
5 sticks (2 1/2 cups) butter, cut into tablespoon pieces and softened
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
5 cups confectioners' sugar
2 1/2 cups milk chocolate, melted and cooled
1/2 cup unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat the oven 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

Whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Divide batter between the two prepared pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until thin knife inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Frosting: In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine the butter, salt, and 2 cups of the confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Add the melted chocolate, vanilla, and remaining sugar. Whisk on medium-high until smooth and fluffy.

Once the cupcakes are cool, frost the cupcakes.

-Aaron John
My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure
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Coconut Cupcakes

These last couple of weeks, I've been bombarded with a plethora of school work! (Don't you just love my sophisticated language? ha). From readings, to assignments, to labs and post labs and now midterms, I have been super busy. I've been SOOOO determined to do extremely well in my full load of classes though so hopefully it will be worth it. Also, I have narrowed my major down to two choices! Either Biochemistry/Pharmacy or Pre-Nursing. I guess we'll find out what I choose by the end of the year! :)

Back to this week's post for Coconut Cupcakes. If you have a facebook account, you may have noticed, in the last couple of weeks, that your friends may be posting a status that says 'I like it on the ___(Fill In The Blank)___". In addition, you may have noticed that only females were posting this. I'm about to de-mystify what this means! So what was this about? Breast Cancer Awareness Month..Duhhhh! lol. How this status relates to Breast Cancer Awareness, I have no clue, but the message does have us ask "Why the status?" and thus, it brings awareness. To bring awareness to Breast Cancer, I made Coconut Cupcakes with a Pink Buttercream. I only felt it would be right to do something for Breast Cancer Awareness since it is this month. Plus, since it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, you definitely have to have something Pink inspired. ha. How will you honor Breast Cancer Awareness?

Also, if you still haven't entered my giveaway for a $55 Gift Certificate for CSN Stores, just check out my post for "Love Potion #31 Cookies". You can enter until October 20th.

Results

Taste: The cake had a distinct almond-vanilla flavor which brings out the flavor of the coconut. I wasn't able to test out the cream cheese frosting however...

Texture: Not exactly a soft and fluffy cake. More dense than a regular cupcake but not as dense as a pound cake. The coconut that was mixed into the batter gave a nice textural difference to the cake. 

Tips
-I did not fill the cupcake liners to the top as the recipe says. If you do, your cupcakes will rise too much and bake onto the cupcake pan. I filled mine with about 3 tbsp of batter so about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way up.

-Other people have variations of this recipe. I even saw some using toasted coconut instead! :)

Coconut Cupcakes (Makes 24 Cupcakes)

Recipe by Ina Garten

Ingredients

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

5 extra-large eggs at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup buttermilk

14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut

For the frosting:

1 pound cream cheese at room temperature

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

1 1/2 pounds confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces of coconut.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

-Aaron John

My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure

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Carrot Cake

Raw carrots are difficult for me to eat. Cooked carrots are hard for me to eat. Cooked carrots that have their flavors hidden are easier for me to eat. Call me crazy but I'm not crazy for carrots. I cringe at the thought of eating a raw carrot. Even drenched in ranch dressing, I just can't eat it. BTW, a little fun fact. So I was watching the Dr. Oz show and carrots actually don't help your eyesight as much as everyone say they do. It's actually a myth!! Instead, dark green leafy vegetables help more!! Anyway, once the carrot's flavor is disguised with something flavorful, I eat them with ease. That's why Carrot Cake is so delicious to me. Its flavor is disguised with spices and it's just so darn good! I'd like to think that this cake is healthy. I mean, it's a cake that uses VEGETABLES!! How can it be bad? This has to be another semi-healthy dessert!! Carrots already have a natural sweetness so we're just enhancing it here with more sugar! :D

Now, I can't give away the recipe for this carrot cake. Sorry I'm not sharing again!! (I'll explain later in this post). I'm probably getting on your nerves for not posting recipes, huh? Well, I'll talk about it later. But today, yes today, July 22nd, is one of my best friend's birthday! Happy Birthday to Michael Appelgate!! Woot Woot!! Happy Birthday bro!! I met Michael my freshmen year of high school. I don't think we started talking until we were both on our high school swim team. Let me tell you, that swim team was a doozy!! Waking up at 5:00 AM everyday to go to swim practice for about 2 hrs, go to school for another 6 hrs, then having land practice for another hour, was TOUGH!! Not to mention smelling like chlorine the whole day. It was through joining this team that enabled me to make great friends on that swimming team and even though I didn't enjoy the practices so much, it was all worth it. So once again, Happy Birthday Michael!! Oh, it's also my cousin, Jeremiah's birthday as well. Happy Birthday to him too!! haha.

So, why am I not going to post the recipe for my carrot cake? Like I said before I want to own a cupcake shop. But, this recipe is a serious secret as well. It's kind of hard to explain. My family wasn't supposed to have this recipe. In fact, I don't think anyone was supposed to have this recipe. My mom got it from a co-worker who got it from another co-worker somehow and I had to "drag" the recipe out of my mom. My mom specifically said not to share it. So, there you go. I did find a recipe that is similar to the one I use so here's the similar recipe. (Betty Crocker's Carrot Cake) P.S. I need to work on my piping skills.....

Carrot Cake
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups shredded carrots (5 medium)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 to 3 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom and sides of one 13x9-inch pan or two 8-inch or 9-inch round pans with shortening; lightly flour. In large bowl, beat granulated sugar, oil and eggs with electric mixer on low speed about 30 seconds or until blended. Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda, 1 teaspoon vanilla and the salt; beat on low speed 1 minute. Stir in carrots and nuts. Pour into pan(s).

Bake 13x9-inch pan 40 to 45 minutes, round pans 30 to 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool rectangle in pan on cooling rack. Cool rounds 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, milk and vanilla with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, on low speed until smooth and spreadable. Frost 13x9-inch cake or fill and frost round layers with frosting. Store in refrigerator.


-Aaron John
My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure
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Red Velvet Cupcakes And A Day That Only Comes Once A Year!!

Okay, guess what today is? No, I'm not talking about the 4th of July or Canada Day. This day only comes once a year...It usually involves cakes and candles...Sometimes there are balloons and streamers...Got it yet? Nope? Well, what if I tell you that it is one person's special day that comes once a year? Now? Well, I'll just tell you!! Today, July 1st, is my birthday!! :D I'm turning, what I think is a weird number, 19 years old! The last year in the teen years. Boy do I feel old.....JKJK But really, I can't believe I'm already 19 years old. It seems like it was yesterday when I was sitting in my living room watching my top 3 Disney movies of all time: "The Lion King", "Aladdin" and "Mulan". Then there is Toy Story. Sadly to say, I haven't seen the third movie yet but every time I hear the song from Toy Story, "You've Got a Friend In Me", I think about my childhood.

Anyway, so I'm turning 19 years old, but what's special about 19 years old? when you turn 16, you can get your license. When you're 17, you get to see Rated R movies. When you're 18, you're legal. When you're 20, you're out of the teen years. When you're 21, you are at the legal age to drink and what not. BUT, what is special about 19? I guess I'll find out this year. Today will be filled with hanging out with some of my good friends from High School, watching a movie, eating at the Cheesecake Factory and whatever I may want to do. I'm prepared to do anything. Well....maybe not everything.....

So, what goes better with birthdays than cake?! What is better than cake than CUPCAKES!! That's what I made today, just for my birthday. So how did I decide on Red Velvet for my birthday? Well, I have yet to find a great vanilla cake recipe (which is my favorite), but I wasn't craving chocolate cake either. Thus, I have made Red Velvet Cupcakes. I think it's really a combination of a vanilla cake and a chocolate cake. It has a slight hint of both chocolate and vanilla without them overpowering one another. Plus, I have found that there has been a craze over Red Velvet Cupcakes for some reason. So here goes. I made my Red Velvet Cupcakes, piped them on with cream cheese frosting, sprinkled them with red sugar and topped it with a birthday candle. Does this scream "Birthday" or what...Maybe it screams 4th of July because of the blue candle...but NO! It's my birthday. haha.

I actually won't be posting the recipe for my Red Velvet Cupcakes. Sorry!! I'll explain. I actually want to open a Cupcake Shop and so will my Cupcake Shop be successful if my recipes for them are posted on the web? I think not. You see, if my cupcake recipes are posted on the web, why would anyone want to go to my shop if they can make it at home? I have already perfected my Red Velvet Cupcake recipe and I can't find it in me to post it. Don't be sad though!! I have decided that I will meet you guys half way. I'll find recipes that are close to mine but are not the same. Sounds good? kk. Here's a similar recipe!

Red Velvet Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
10 ounce cake flour (about 2 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons red food coloring (about 1 ounce)

Frosting:
5 tablespoons butter, softened
4 teaspoons buttermilk
1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese, softened
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (about 1 pound)
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare the cupcakes, place 24-30 (depending on how big you want your cupcakes to be) paper muffin cup liners in muffin cups; coat with cooking spray.

Weigh or lightly spoon cake flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine cake flour, unsweetened cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk. Place granulated sugar and unsalted butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 3 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and 1 1/4 cups buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Add white vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, and food coloring; beat well.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire racks.

To prepare frosting, beat 5 tablespoons butter, 4 teaspoons buttermilk, and cream cheese with a mixer at high speed until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar; beat until smooth. Add 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla; beat well. Spread frosting evenly over cupcakes.


-Aaron John
My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure
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Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

Lately, I've been craving Blueberry Scones. I haven't had one in a very long time. The first ever Blueberry Scone I had came from Starbucks and it was beyond good. It had a crunchy layer of sugar on the top, was buttery on the inside and the blueberries were tart and sweet. Just describing them makes me want to go buy one right now. But instead, I have a funny story to tell you that my friend told me about. My friend was at "By George", which is a cafe/food place underneath UW's Odegaard library, waiting in line to order. A girl in front of her ordered a muffin and when the cashier returned with the girl's order, she gave her a scone. Okay, who gets a muffin confused with a scone?! They look totally different! Anyway, since it's finals week here at UW, I thought Blueberry Scones would be a good "brain food" to eat before my FINAL EXAM. That's right, I only have ONE Final Exam and I took FOUR classes this quarter. I'm so happy about that. So, I searched high and low for a Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze recipe and ended up with one by Tyler Florence. His Blueberry Scones got rave reviews so I said "Why not?". Tyler Florence is a really great chef so I trust that he can make great food.

I did exactly what the recipe said. I cut the butter into the flour mixture and added the heavy cream. I noticed that the dough was very strange. It was extremely dry and thick so I had to add even more heavy cream. Then, I added the fresh blueberries (which I froze to try and reduce crushing them) and things got even worse. It was almost impossible to mix in the blueberries into the dough. Every which way, the blueberries were getting crushed even though they were frozen! The skins of the blueberries were peeling off and created a huge mess. I wasn't able to fully mix in the blueberries and to top it all off, now I had to pat it down so I can cut scones. I think you get the picture now, right? Patting them down led to more smashing. At this point, I was completely over and annoyed by this recipe and so I just cut out these scones, brushed them with heavy cream and sprinkled them with sugar. When they came out of the oven, they looked like deformed rectangles. Some weren't even cooked so I had to take out the ones that were cooked and put the rest back into the oven. At this point, I was so done with the recipe that I didn't want to waste more ingredients on these scones by making the glaze. Nothing could save them now. When I ate one, it wasn't that great. It was so doughy and dense. It wasn't fluffy and flakey like I hoped. Maybe I'll try it again but I don't want to put myself through this misery. Here's the recipe if you actually want to try out these scones. Because of this horrible recipe, I will make Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins tomorrow so look out for that.

Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze (Makes 8 scones)
Ingredients
Blueberry Scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks
1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones
1 cup fresh blueberries
Lemon Glaze:
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 lemon, zest finely grated
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sift together the dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using 2 forks or a pastry blender, cut in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough. Fold the blueberries into the batter. Take care not to mash or bruise the blueberries because their strong color will bleed into the dough.

Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 by 3 by 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in 1/2 then cut the pieces in 1/2 again, giving you 4 (3-inch) squares. Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape. Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with a little heavy cream. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until beautiful and brown. Let the scones cool a bit before you apply the glaze.

Technically you should make this simple lemon glaze in a double boiler (i.e. over a pot of simmering water with a heatproof bowl set on top) but it's even simpler to zap it in the microwave. Mix the lemon juice and confectioners' sugar together in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon zest and butter. Nuke it for 30 seconds on high. Whisk the glaze to smooth out any lumps, then drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. Let it set a minute before serving.



-Aaron John
My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure
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"Strawberry Shortcake" Cookies

I have a love for many things strawberry. From the simple chocolate dipped strawberry, strawberry jams, strawberry ice cream and so forth. Then, there's my love for the Strawberry Kellogg's Special K Bars. These are my favorite to eat, especially during my two hour breaks in between classes at UW. They are a great snack to have and have a great sweetness. They taste similar to "Cap'n Crunch Berries". If you haven't tried them, you should!! Well, one day during my two hour break, I got an inspiration. I wanted to make a strawberry cookie that had the same intense strawberry sweetness that the Special K Bar had. Shouldn't be too hard right? I mean, I said to myself "I can probably just add strawberry extract to my chocolate chip cookie recipe and it would be done".

Well, I started to read the ingredients in the Special K Bar to see what the strawberry looking pieces were because if I was going to make a cookie like these bars, it should have some strawberry pieces right? However, these "strawberry pieces" in the Bars were actually CRANBERRIES! o__O What a revelation. A strawberry bar that doesn't have strawberries?! Say Whaaaaa?! It made my life a little easier though because I made "White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies" before. So, I would just have to add strawberry extract to this cookie. I did exactly that. In this case, I used imitation strawberry extract. I don't usually do or recommend this. If anything, get the pure stuff. However, after going to four different stores, they either had the imitation extract or none at all. Anywho, I used about 2 tsp. of the imitation strawberry extract and mixed it into the "White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies". Then I scooped and baked them. After coming out of the oven and cooled, I drizzled them with a simple icing made out of powdered sugar and milk. These cookies were delicious!! The cookies had the strawberry sweetness, the cranberries gave a tartness and the chocolate gave a vanilla creaminess. I gave them the name "'Strawberry Shortcake' Cookies" because the white chocolate chips really gave the creamy, vanilla factor that whip cream gives strawberry shortcakes. This has become one of my favorites!! :D Here was my simple icing recipe.

Vanilla Icing (Good for a batch of 8 cookies)
Ingredients
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon milk
A Splash of vanilla

Directions
Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth. Once finished, check to see if the icing is able to be drizzled easily. If not, add more milk. If too thin, add more powdered sugar. Once at desired thickness, drizzle lightly over the cookies.

-Aaron John
My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure
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"Jamoca Almond Fudge" Cookies

If you've ever been to Baskin Robbins, you know that one of their classic flavors is their "Jamoca Almond Fudge" ice cream and you probably have tried it before. If you haven't, their "Jamoca Almond Fudge" ice cream is a combination of coffee ice cream, chocolate fudge that is running throughout and roasted almonds. This has been one of my favorite flavors at BR. So, still on my creative project of turning ice cream flavors into cookies, this post is the recreation of BR's "Jamoca Almond Fudge" ice cream. Once again, I used my chocolate chip cookie batter recipe. The recipe I used to use can be found at my old blog post, "The Best Chocolate Cookie Out There". I feel like I should explain why I'm using this recipe constantly. Well, the reason why I always use this recipe in creating new flavors is because it's a great cookie dough to work with. It has a neutral vanilla flavor which goes well with everything, it creates a nice chew to the cookie and it's easy to do. They say, you always need a great base in order to build a building. Well, you also need a great cookie dough to create a great cookie and the chocolate chip cookie dough recipe is exactly that. Anyways, back to my "Jamoca Almond Fudge" cookie. Like I said before, I used the chocolate chip cookie dough recipe. During the stage where I cream the butter and sugar together, I added about 2 tablespoons of instant espresso powder. I then continued the recipe as is. Then when it came time for the "mix-ins", I added 1 cup of chocolate chips and 1 cup of roasted almonds. Once baked, I let them cool and I topped them with a "hot fudge sauce" from a recipe by Wayne Harley Brachman. His recipe didn't taste like a store bought one but it was alright. I would say to buy the store bought stuff though because it is easier to use and tastes great. Overall, these cookies were somewhat of a success in my creative project. They only had a hint of coffee which was alright but it was missing that fudge sauce flavor that this sauce did not give. It was a good trial though! Here's the hot fudge sauce recipe I used.

Hot Fudge Sauce

Ingredients
1/2 cup very hot brewed coffee
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa
1/2 cup light corn syrup
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions
In a medium bowl, whisk together the coffee, sugar and cocoa. Whisk in the corn syrup until all the sugar crystals are dissolved and the mixture is completely smooth.

Place the chocolate and butter in a large, dry bowl or in the top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water. When the chocolate has melted, whisk in the coffee-cocoa mixture until smooth and blended. The sauce is best if left to ripen for a full day before serving. Store in a sealed container. The sauce keeps for 3 weeks in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer.

-Aaron John
My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure
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