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

Holiday Biscotti

Merry Christmas Eve and Merry Christmas to others!! Christmas is upon us. The tree is up, the decorations fill the house with joy, and the food, oh the food...fills the house with that wondrous smell. So, get out those pajamas and those fuzzy slippers, find your cameras and video recorders, get off your diet and splurge a little bit, and get ready to have some fun.

Christmas is always full of fun but food preparation may be stressful but I can help with your desserts. Do you still need a last minute cookie recipe to fill up your cookie tray? Why not make a cookie with the colors of Christmas, red and green? Holiday Biscotti is the cookie that will round out your tray. Simple to make and rather quick to bake. Aren't you impressed with how they look? Well, I hope so! 

Once again, Happy Holidays everyone! Remember, it's not about the presents, it's about spending time with family and friends (and the food of course! :D). 

Tips

-When you form the dough into a log, I find that having it be about 1/2 inch thick created the best thickness after being baked.
-When baking for the second time, I like to flip the biscotti half way through the baking process.
-Don't bake the biscotti for too long. I notice that baking dried fruit for too long can cause it to become hard instead of chewy


Results
Taste: The biscotti has a light lemon flavor with a nuttyness from the pistachios, a tart, sweetness from the cranberries and a vanilla flavor from the white chocolate.


Texture: The biscotti has a "light crunch" and not the "hard crunch" of store bought biscotti which is nice. The pistachios gave a slight "soft crunch", the cranberries gave a chewiness and the white chocolate gave a creaminess to tie the whole cookie together.


Holiday Biscotti (Makes 2 dozen)
Recipe by Giada de Laurentiis

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup dried cranberries
12 ounces good-quality white chocolate, chopped
Red and green sugar crystals, for garnish

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in the pistachios and cranberries.

Form the dough into a 13-inch long, 3-inch wide log on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 40 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.

Place the log on the cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 to 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti until they are pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely.

Stir the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Dip half of the biscotti into the melted chocolate. Gently shake off the excess chocolate. Place the biscotti on the baking sheet for the chocolate to set. Sprinkle with the sugar crystals. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes.

The biscotti can be made ahead. Store them in an airtight container up to 4 days, or wrap them in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks.

-Aaron John

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"Birthday Cake" Cookie

Happy September guys!! :) So, way back in May I decided to do an "Ice Cream Into Cookies" Project but I never followed through with it. It actually started when I made my "Cookies N' Cream" Cookies and had a brilliant idea to turn our favorite Ice Cream flavors into cookies. The same great flavor of ice cream in a portable "vehicle" that doesn't melt. From there, the last "Ice Cream Into Cookies" baked creation I made was my "Jamocha Almond Fudge" Cookies. Well, 3 months later and my "Ice Cream Into Cookies" Project is back in action and it all starts with my "Birthday Cake" Cookie.

My "Birthday Cake" Cookie was inspired by Coldstone's Birthday Cake and Birthday Cake Remix ice creams. I decided to combine the two flavors of these two ice creams into one. If you don't know, their Birthday Cake Ice Cream is, if I can remember right, chocolate cake batter ice cream, vanilla cake, sprinkles and fudge. I think it was taken off the menu for Birthday Cake Remix though. Birthday Cake Remix is Cake Batter Ice Cream, sprinkles, brownies and fudge. So, I combined both flavors and ended up with this "Birthday Cake" Cookie. For the base of the cookie, I used Tyler Florence's Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. Coincidentally, his recipe was the first chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever used.

You're probably asking yourself what is this "Birthday Cake" Cookie. Well, it's a chocolate chip cookie dough mixed with rainbow sprinkles, pieces of pound cake and white chocolate to keep up with the "vanilla theme" I seemed to be having. I'm seriously in love with this cookie!! It tastes soooo good!! When it comes out of the oven, it smells like a combination of chocolate chip cookies and vanilla cupcakes! The dough had the right amount of sweetness, the sprinkles added a little crunch and color, the white chocolate enhanced the vanilla flavor and the pound cake kept the cookie soft and moist, not to mention that biting into a chunk of cake was the best part! I'm definitely keeping this recipe! I have a ton of ideas for my "Ice Cream Into Cookies" Project and I can't wait to try them! Here's my tip and the recipe!

**Tips

-When the cookie base is finished, it's best to mix in the sprinkles and chocolate chips completely before the pound cake. It allows the pound cake to stay in bigger chunks.

-The pound cake doesn't need to be completely mixed into the dough so don't feel frustrated when the cake is breaking apart. When you begin to scoop the cookies, it'll make it's way into the dough.

"Birthday Cake" Cookie (Makes 1 Dozen 5 inch Cookies or 4 Dozen Mini Cookies)

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup white sugar

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/4 cup colored sprinkles

3/4 cup white chocolate

1 1/2 cups of pound cake, cut into cubes

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

Place the butter, sugar, and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer; cream together on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the vanilla and eggs. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and continue to mix until a smooth batter forms. Turn off the mixer and fold in the sprinkles, chocolate chips, and pound cake pieces using the spatula.

To form the cookies, scoop about 1/4 cup of cookie dough into your hands and roll it around into a ball; place them about 3-inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets; you should get about 4 cookies on each pan. Press down the tops of the dough slightly and bake until the cookies are light brown, 12 minutes for chewy cookies, or about 15 minutes for crispy cookies.

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough/cookie sheets.

-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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