Blondies

This is another recipe courtesy of Momma Pixie.  She has been telling me for weeks now to make these.  And now that I have, I wonder what I was so preoccupied with that I didn't make them sooner than today.  This recipe is from a Gooseberry Patch cookbook.

What you will need:
1 cup or 2 sticks of butter, melted
2 cups of brown sugar, packed
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of chopped pecans (I only had walnuts in my cabinet...so feel free to improvise)
1 cup of white chocolate chips
3/4 cup of toffee or caramel baking chips

In a large bowl, mix together your melted butter and brown sugar.

Next, add in the beaten egg and vanilla.  Make sure your butter has cooled because you do not want to start cooking the egg and then you have little gross egg bits floating around.  Eww.

Now that is mixed together, add in the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Stir until everything is incorporated.

Final step is to add the chopped nuts, white chocolate chips, and toffee bits.

I am pretty sure there is a magical culinary formula out there that determines the proportion of batter to baking accessories......and this recipe totally doesn't care.

Pour the batter into a well greased 13x9 baking pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Let cool in the pan before you start cutting into them.  Top with vanilla ice cream and you have yourself a very easy dessert that everyone will love.  

Blondies - Print Recipe

My First Giveaway!

UPDATE:  Congratulations to Miriah for her comment.  

An adorable apron is on the way

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Why am I doing a giveaway?  Well...because I have been a bad blogger and have neglected you guys of sugary sweet recipes in the last two months.

Why have I been so slow on blogging?

Because this little guy (or girl) doesn't care much for sweets.  Or chocolate.  Or strawberries for that matter.

So now it is someone's chance to win this super cute apron that I found at Anthropologie.

I love that store.  If only I were a size 2 and could pull off the whole retro vibe.  But now is your chance to get a piece of that cute retro apparel.  All you have to do is leave a comment about what is your favorite item in the kitchen.  Something like "My life completely changed when I got my KitchenAid Mixer!"   What?  I am being serious here.  Do you know how awesome that thing is??

So leave a comment below and the winner will be announced soon!!!

Valentine's Day

So I know this is getting a little late, but I promised I would show you what I did with my marshmallow fondant.

Ta-da!

The bear was pretty simple to make.  You just have to have an imagination when it comes to forming the little guy.

The first step is to tint your marshmallow fondant the colors you want.  I used AmeriColor food coloring in Chocolate Brown and Super Black.  It provides a really nice intense color to your fondant and gumpaste.

After you tint your fondant, let it sit in the fridge overnight.  When you are ready to start playing, knead the fondant until it is pliable again.  Start with the body.  I know it looks like a blob.....just IMAGINE okay?

Next, add some legs.  And paws!

Next stop is the head.  Make a round ball and flatten part of the top to make the area for the eyes. This will help you place the nose later on as well.

Add some ears...
The ears should stick to the head.  But if you are having some problems, dab a little water where you want to stick them.  This will help keep them in place.

Make a BIG heart.  I used a cookie cutter for this part.

Then you can add your arms.  Toothpicks come in handy at this point to attach the arms to the heart. Then you can smooth over the little holes by rubbing over the fondant.  Or you can prop up the arms with miscellaneous objects until they dry and set.

 I also added a little nose and carved out a little mouth here too.  Almost done!

Add some eyes....and voila!  Just store him in the fridge until needed.

I think I see a big green shamrock in his future.  What do you think?

Marshmallow Fondant

So it has been a while since I posted.  I apologize.  I have spent all week trying to thaw out from the negative temperatures and mountains of snow I had to deal with in Boston last week.  My poor weak Florida blood just couldn't take it.

But now that I am back.....let's bring on the fun.

Today I made marshmallow fondant.  The first reason why is because store bought fondant is expensive and tastes funny.  The second reason why is because it gave me an excuse to eat marshmallows by the handful.   Sometimes it's the little things that make me happy.

You will only need a few items.

1 package of mini marshmallows (16 ounces)
2 pounds (about 8 cups) of powdered sugar
2 - 5 Tablespoons of water
vegetable shortening
food coloring is desired

Pour the marshmallows in a microwave safe bowl and add about 2 Tablespoons of water.

Throw the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Stir the marshmallows.  You need for the marshmallows to be smooth, so you might have to throw them back in the microwave again.  Just keep the time to 30 second intervals and you should be fine.

Once the marshmallows are smooth, add about 3/4 of the powdered sugar to the bowl.  Fold the sugar in.

Now to incorporate the rest of the sugar, you will knead the fondant while sprinkling in the sugar. You can do this by using the tried and true method of tossing it on the counter and kneading it like bread dough or you can cheat and use your handy dandy stand mixer.  I cheated.  I'm not afraid to admit it.  With either method you choose, this is where the vegetable shortening comes in handy. Spread it on the counter where you are going to knead the fondant or line your bowl and dough hook with it.  It just helps keep the fondant from sticking everywhere.

If your dough is too crumbly, add a little more water and continue kneading.  If it is too wet, you can add a little more powdered sugar.  But you want a texture that is nice and smooth when finished.  If you want to add color to the entire batch, you can do so during the kneading process.  Or you can break off small pieces and add color later if you want more options.

Once it is mixed, wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight.

When ready to use, bring the fondant to room temperature.  Roll out to desired thickness and cut out shapes or letters for decorations.  Stay tuned for my plans for my pink marshmallow fondant!

Marshmallow Fondant - Print Recipe

Chocolate Spongecake

I decided to make a chocolate spongecake, instead of ladyfingers, this week for a tiramisu.  But the mascarpone mousse didn't come out all that well and I forgot that gelatin smells like feet when it gets warmed up.  But the spongecake was good!


What you will need:
3 whole eggs
and then
3 egg yolks
3 egg whites 
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons of vanilla
1/3 cup of cake flour
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1/4 cup of powdered sugar


The first step is to sift your cake flour and cocoa powder together.

Next, combine your eggs, yolks, granulated sugar, and vanilla in a bowl.  With either a stand or hand mixer, whisk the ingredients together until thick ribbons form.  This means the mix has turned pale yellow and thick.  Fold in the flour mixture.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites and powdered sugar to medium soft peaks.  Take a third of the egg white mixture and add it to the flour mixture.  This is done to help lighten the mix first.  If you try to add all the egg whites at once, you have a greater risk of deflating your cake mix.

Once that is mixed in thoroughly, fold in your remaining egg whites.  

Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.  Bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  You know it is done when a knife or toothpick comes out clean when you stick it in the middle.  Let cool completely before serving.  Try it with a little bit of vanilla ice cream and some chocolate fudge sauce for dessert.  Or maybe some fresh cream and berries.  Or maybe...

Chocolate Spongecake - Print Recipe

The Festival of Chocolate

Mr. Baking Pixie and I got to go the Festival of Chocolate in Tampa this weekend.  We spent way too much money and ate way too much chocolate.


We got to see some beautiful cakes done by Cakes Plus.

I think we were already eating chocolate covered marshmallows on a stick by this point.  Shortly after that, we stopped for mocha gelato at another booth and grabbed a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream from Pure Magic Ice Cream out of Kissimmee.  They make your ice cream right in front of you using liquid nitrogen.  


Our next stop was a demonstration on chocolate center pieces performed by the uber hilarious and world famous pastry chef, Ewald Notter.

Here is his finished piece.  He made the textured piece on the side of the heart by spreading chocolate over the plastic cover of a light fixture.  

After the demonstration, we toured the booths again and purchased goodies to bring home.  After we made the 2 mile trek back to our car (at least it seemed that far) we rewarded ourselves by eating a peanut butter cookie cup filled with chocolate buttercream from Kookie Krums.


We also got an espresso brownie from Mikey's Cafe and Bakery.

And to finish off the trip we purchased chocolate bark, hazelnut and Oreo crunch, from the Notter School of Pastry Arts in Orlando.

For the first time in my life I can say.... I am sick of chocolate.   

Peanut Butter Marshmallow Frosting

I know.  It's peanut butter.  I have already admitted I have a problem.  Let's continue. 


I got this recipe from the What's New, Cupcake? book.  The cupcakes are adorable.  But what I really like about the book is that they give you super simple recipes in the back using only a few ingredients.  I like their version of "almost homemade buttercream" because I am not a HUGE buttercream fan.  And who can argue against the use of marshmallow fluff?

For the basic buttercream, you will need:

3 sticks of unsalted butter cut into pieces to soften
1 16 ounce tub of Marshmallow Fluff
1/2 cup or more of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla

With a mixer, beat the softened butter until it is smooth and creamy.  Add in the marshmallow fluff and mix till combined.  You will have to scrape down the bowl a few times.  Marshmallow fluff gets everywhere.  Add in 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar and your vanilla extract.

For the peanut butter frosting, add in 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter at this time.  Taste your frosting.  Add more powdered sugar if you want it sweeter.  But don't add too much because it can become gritty.

If the frosting is a little too soft to use, throw it in the fridge for a few minutes.  Pipe the frosting onto some chocolate cupcakes and savor all the praises coming your way!

Peanut Butter Marshmallow Buttercream - Print Recipe