Archive for April, 2010
A whoopie pie consists of two cake-like cookies sandwiching a creamy, frosting-like filling. It’s a great snack because, since it’s a bit like an inside-out cupcake, it’s very easy to eat. These snacks aren’t quite as popular as cookies or cupcakes, so they often only get a handful of pages in any given cookbook (if that). Whoopie Pies is an entire cookbook dedicated to whoopie pies alone.
The book is divided into two main categories, the cookies and the fillings. It’s designed so that you can make the suggested recipes, then mix and match to create some of your own, unique flavor combinations. Although there are quite a few recipes in the book, this actually gives it a very simple feel. The flavors here are great, too. There are cookies that include lemon, peanut butter, oatmeal and graham cracker, which is made with graham flour. There are fillings from marshmallow to tiramisu to strawberry buttercream – and I suspect that many of them could be used as frostings for regular cakes and cupcakes if you’re not up for a batch of whoopie pies.
The book is lively and fun to read, with cute illustrations and plenty of enticing photos. The cookies are very simple and the photos really inspire you to get into the kitchen and bake – and odds are good that your treats will come out looking just like these. I admit that this is mostly because whoopie pies are so easy to make (it’s nice to have a professional-looking treat come out of your kitchen with such little effort!), but the recipes are clear and easy to follow along with, as well. It’s a grat single-subject book to cook from and it is definitely fun to enjoy these comfort food treats with friends and family.
I like my waffles to be nice and fluffy, with a crisp exterior and a moist interior. I think that this texture is the best for holding up to melted butter and maple syrup. That said, there are times when a heartier waffle is a good choice, as it is on a chilly spring morning when you want something satisfying to start your day. Or just for the variety and a change of pace.
I don’t usually put nuts in my waffles, so these Toasted Almond Waffles are definitely a chance of pace. They’re nice and nutty, with a good overall flavor and texture to them. There is oatmeal and almond meal – a.k.a. ground almonds – in the waffle batter. Both contribute to the nutty flavor. Having a lot of ground almonds alone could make the waffles a little dense, but this small amount doesn’t make them too heavy. I also chopped up some toasted almonds and mixed them into the batter, for texture and flavor. That little crunch you get when you take a bite is great!
These waffles will cook up just like any other waffle you put through your waffle iron, although you will need a waffle iron to make these. Serve with a sprinkling of toasted almonds and powdered sugar, or drizzle them with syrup and melted butter.
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The 44th Pillsbury Bake-Off ended yesterday morning, with one lucky baker walking away $1,000,000 richer. Last time around, I was lucky enough to attend the big event and spent some time blogging about it, both about the experience of attending and about what goes into making those recipes so great. The cooks there are talented, and don’t let the fact that there are some required ingredients for the contest let you think otherwise!
This year, the million-dollar grand prize went to Sue Compton of Delanco, NJ, for her Mini Ice Cream Cookie Cups (pictured above). I love this recipe because it seems so simple, yet when all those flavors come together, it really hits the nail on the head in terms of great flavors. It’s a sugar cookie crust baked in a mini muffin pan, rimmed with chocolate and walnuts, filled with a little bit of jam, then topped off with ice cream and fresh raspberries. This would definitely be easy to throw together for summer parties!
Cooking with Amy was at the Bake Off, along with a number of other bloggers. There is also an official Bake-Off Blog. All are worth checking out. The contest is so big that it takes two years to get to the next round, but that is just enough time to experiment in your own kitchen and come up with your own million-dollar recipe!
The Great American Pie Festival is being held next weekend, April 24-25, in Celebration, Florida and it is the place to be for pie lovers. The event is a huge one, held annually, and draws visitors from all over the country who love pie. The event has a couple of highlights. One of these is the Never-Ending Pie Buffet, featuring more than 50,000 slices of award-winning pies in a variety of flavors, as well as ice creams, toppings and beverages to pair with them.The other big draw is the Crisco® 2010 National Pie Championships. This pie contest typically draws almost 200 entries in three categories, junior, amateur and professional, and covering a huge range of pie flavors, from classic apple to decadent peanut butter. Best of Show winners in the amateur and professional divisions will each win $5,000, a new Sears Kenmore range and a Crisco gift basket, while the top winner in the Junior Chef division receive a $2000 college scholarship and a Crisco gift basket. There is also a commercial division where ribbons and bragging rights will be awarded. I’m going to be judging the amateur division this year and, as a big pie fan, I can’t wait.
If you live in or around the Orlando, Florida area, I have a 4-pack of free tickets to the Great American Pie Festival to give away! It’s a great chance to eat some (really good) pie and have a fun, food-filled day out. I’ll give the tickets out to a random winner, chosen from the comments below on Monday April 19th. If you want a chance to enter, simply name your favorite pie flavor and make sure that you either live in the area or want to take a little road trip down there that weekend! Don’t forget to include your e-mail in the comment form so that I can contact the winner.
Note: Flights/Accommodations are not included, just a 4 pack of tickets to the event.
Update: Congrats to Carmen in FL who won the tickets to this event! Have fun at the festival Carmen!
While cupcakes can come in any flavor, I think that there are still just two main kinds of cupcakes, judging by the standards that you will see in every bakery, every coffee shop and every market: chocolate with chocolate frosting and vanilla with vanilla frosting. To be honest, I like to mix chocolate and vanilla, but I’ll readily admit that nothing goes better with a big, tall, cold glass of milk than a good chocolate cupcake topped off with chocolate frosting
This is one of my favorite basic chocolate cupcake recipes. These cupcakes use a generous amount of sour cream in them, which makes the cupcakes moist and tender. The tang from the sour cream also seems to ensure that the cupcakes taste chocolaty, without tasting overly sweet. The chocolate flavor comes from a lot of cocoa powder, adding flavor without adding any density, and again not making the cupcakes overly sweet. Adding a little bit of coffee doesn’t add a mocha or coffee flavor to the cake at all, it simply deepens the chocolate notes. This base is perfect for a sweet, chocolaty frosting. In this case, it’s a milk chocolate sour cream frosting that is both smooth and rich. Add the confectioners’ sugar in gradually when you make the frosting so it doesn’t become overly thick and maintains a nice, spreadable consistency.
If you really want to take these over the top, thrown in a big handful of mini chocolate chips. They’re not going to dramatically change these cupcakes for the better, since they’re moist and have a great flavor on their own, but they will still sneak in a little bit of a extra chocolate punch with each bite. You can even sprinkle a few on top of the frosting as a decoration in lieu of regular sprinkles. You might want to have a second glass of milk handy if you take this route or risk chocolate overload!
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