s'more please

s'more cookies! i had to make them. ever since i saw them on the baking robot. they are some of the best cookies i've ever had. however, some of the marshmallows in some completed disappeared. i suspect this is because they weren't really frozen after a bit, so don't forget that important step: FREEZE YOUR MARSHMALLOWS.

'ere ya go.

Ingredients
3 cups AP flour
2/3 cup coco powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
1 large dark-chocolate bar, finely chopped (i used one from ikea)
One bag of mini marshmallows- frozen.

To roll:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup sugar

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400*F
2. Combine flour, coco, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Mix well.
3. Cream butter with sugars, eggs and vanilla.
4. Add flour mixture gradually to butter & sugar mixture.
5. Mix in chocolate to dough (it will be very stiff)
6. Mix together graham crumbs and sugar in a small bowl.
7. Take marshmallows out of the freezer and wrap some chocolate dough around 4-5 marshmallows until totally coated. Roll the ball of cookie dough in the crumb & sugar mixture until coated.
8. Place on a parchment paper-covered cookie sheet an 2 inches apart.
9. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
10. Consume.

Banana streusel muffins

Bonjour madames et monsieurs.

This morning I woke up disgustingly early since my work schedule during the week doesn't allow for any extra sleep, ever. So in being awake for that extra time, I baked. Banana muffins are always yummy but I wanted to mix it up a bit, so I added a streusel topping :) I am pleased to say they were a great breakfast and a great start to the weekend. Wanna make some? Follow the easy steps below.


Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2-3 medium bananas, mashed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 tbsp milk

Streusel topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tbsp butter

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375*F
2. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. Mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together bananas, sugar, oil, egg and vanilla. Proceed to fold wet mixture into the dry mixture in the large bowl, just until all incorporated. If needed, add 2-3 tbsp milk to moisten the mixture a bit more.
4. Mix together brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Then, using a pastry blender or two knives being pulled in opposite directions, cut in the butter until the mixture is fine crumbs.
5. Line a muffin tin with liners and spoon batter evenly into each liner so that they're about 3/4 full. Spoon streusel crumb mixture on top of the batter.
6. Bake for about 18-22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Orange Cinnamon Buns

Happy Friday! Thank god! This week has been a little crazy for me, but I've got skiing to look forward to tomorrow and I was still in high enough spirits to make these beauties tonight after my super long work week. They turned out great considering it was the first attempt. This recipe was a request someone made :) and I encourage more suggestions!

Ingredients

Rolls

• 2 1/2 - 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 1/2 teaspoons quick rise yeast ( I used Fleischmann's)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup luke-warm milk
• 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1 egg, at room temperature

Filling

• 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
•      2 teaspoons cinnamon
•      zest from one orange

Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice (or milk if you just want to make a plain glaze)

Instructions

1. Combine 2 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, and salt.
2. Heat milk at a low power in the microwave until lukewarm.

3. Add the warm milk, 1/4 cup butter and egg to the flour mixture and mix at a low speed until ingredients are combined, scraping sides of bowl frequently.
4. Continue to add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time until the dough begins to leave the sides of the bowl.
5. Turn dough out onto lightly floured board and knead until it is smooth and elastic.

6. Spray bowl with cooking spray and place dough in bowl, turning once to bring greased side of dough up.
7. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 1 hour).

8. Punch down dough, pull edges into center, and turn over in the bowl; let rise again (20-30 min)
9. While dough is rising, combine sugar and cinnamon for filling.
10. Roll dough into 9"x18" rectangle then spread 2 tablespoons softened butter over dough and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mixture, and then orange zest.
11. Roll up tightly beginning at wide side and seal well by pinching edges of roll together.
12. Cut roll into 1" slices by placing a piece of dental floss under roll, bringing ends of floss up and crossing at the top and pulling the ends in opposite directions, cutting through the dough.
13. Spray a large baking pan with cooking spray and place rolls in pan a little apart from each other.
14. Cover pan and let rise until double in bulk (about 20-30 minutes). **I wouldn't say mine necessary doubled after 20-30 minutes, but they did rise a bit more.
15. Bake in a 375°F oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and completely baked through.
16. To make glaze, combine powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons butter, and vanilla in a small bowl; gradually stir in OJ/milk until desired consistency.
17. Cool rolls for about 5 minutes, then spread or drizzle glaze over rolls and serve warm.

* Recipe slightly adapted from Dulce Dough

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Good evening...

I thought I'd switch it up for you guys and post an actual meal instead of dessert for once (god knows you can't ALL be dessert lovers). So tonight I decided to make cream of broccoli soup, which is exceptionally easy and takes next to no cooking skill, but in case you're still hesitant, here's whatcha do:

Ingredients
1 large head of broccoli, chopped
3 ribs of celery, chopped
2 peeled potatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp parsley leaves
2 bay leaves
5 cups of water

Optional: I used the rind of my used-up parmesan and simmered it with the vegetables for some added flavour

Additionally:
1/2 cup cream
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Instructions:
1. Add all vegetables & garlic (& parmesan rind) to a large pot with water. Add the bay leaves & spices. Bring to a boil.
2. Once boiling, turn the heat to low and cover, simmering for about 25-30 minutes.
3. Remove the bay leaves & rind. Turn off the heat and allow to cool down a bit before adding the mixture to a blender (perhaps a bit at a time, according to how big your blender is) and puree the soup. Add the pureed soup to another pot.
4. Mix the puree with the cream & parmesan over low-medium heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring well to ensure it's all incorporated.
5. Serve while hot with bread & butter :)

Carrot cake...in a mug!

Hey guys :)

So do you remember the first time you heard about cake-in-a-mug? Specifically, chocolate cake in a mug. it was all the rage back in 2011... but carrot cake is the new chocolate. Therefore, I present you with carrot cake in a mug. Tasty? Definitely. Healthy? ...well the carrots must add some nutritious value, right? Try and see for yourself.

Ingredients
5 tbsp all purpose flour
4 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of salt
1 egg
3 tbsp milk
3 tbsp oil
Dash of vanilla
Approx. 2 tbsp zested carrot (about 1/4 of a large carrot)
Powdered sugar (for topping)

Instructions


Mix all ingredients in a large mug. Microwave on high for 1 minute & 30 seconds. Sprinkle top with powdered sugar. Enjoy.

Citrus Strawberry Scones

Greetings.

Today, I wasn't feeling well enough to go into work. However, I needed to do something productive... so naturally, I baked. The downside of this is that I may have "infected" these delicacies, the upside however is that it means I will need to consume them all.... damn.

Scones are an old favourite, specifically because they're sweet enough to eat as dessert but not too sweet to eat for breakfast. And they're conveniently easy to make... you don't even need an electric mixer. On top of all this, troubleshooting is pretty easy too... if it's too crumbly, add a bit more cream. If it's too liquidy, mix in a bit more flour. Thus, they basically work out every time (unless of course you add wayyy too much cream or flour, they may be difficult to undo)

In the past, I've made raspberry white chocolate scones, chocolate chip scones, blueberry scones and lemon scones. I thought it was time for these. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do...











Makes: Approx. 10 scones
(slightly adapted from le petit brioche)
Ingredients: Scones
2 cups all purpose flour + extra for dusting counter/hands
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

zest from one orange/lemon/grapefruit
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, cut into cubes
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup heavy (whipping) cream
1 cup diced strawberries

Ingredients: Glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
5-6 tsp of orange juice (but lemon or grapefruit juice would be good too!)

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400*F.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and orange zest in a bowl, stir well to incorporate.Using a pastry blender or by pulling two knives in opposing directions, cut butter into the flour mixture until it is fine crumbs.
3. Beat egg and combine with cream. Slowly add egg+cream mixture to the flour mixture while stirring. A dough should start to form. Before the dough is completely formed, add the diced strawberries. Continue to mix. If it's too wet, add a bit more flour and mix a bit more, if too dry, add a tsp of cream at a time until it becomes more doughy.
4. Place dough on lightly floured surface and knead it into a ball. Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper. At this point, you have several options depending on the shapes you want your scones to be. You can A) roll out the dough with a rolling pin and cut out perfect circles with a cutter, you can B) roughly form the individual scones by hand or C) put the entire lump of dough on a baking sheet and cut into wedges after baking. I chose B but have also done C before. I'm not enough of a perfectionist (or have enough patience) for A.

5. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, but check after 15. Depending on the size of the scones and moisture of the dough & individual ovens, times will vary. Scones should be firm to the touch, totally cooked through and slightly browned on top.
6. Remove from oven, place on a cooling rack and allow to cool for 15-20 minutes while preparing the glaze.
7. Mix the powdered sugar and juice together to make the glaze, drizzle it over the scones.

Enjoy.

Creme Brûlée

First attempt at this amazing show-stopping dessert now that my beautiful friend Tara has bought me a kitchen torch and ramekins for my birthday!! Who knew something this delicious could only contain 4, simple ingredients? Srsly. You need to try it. Apparently you don't even need a torch (although, let's be honest, how bad ass is a kitchen torch?) To top this all off, you can even add your own flavours to the creme brûlée, such as orange, chocolate, lemon, cinnamon, or my personal favourite... coconut.


However, tonight I just made plain, simple, beautiful creme brûlée. And I will make it again in a heart beat. 

Can you guess what the four ingredients are?....

Ingredients
2 cups heavy (whipping) cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla (or a vanilla bean, seeds scraped)
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar + extra for the "brûlée" part 


Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 325*F.
2. Heat cream and vanilla in a saucepan until it reaches a boil. Remove from heat and cover, allowing to sit for up to 10 minutes.
3. In the meantime, whisk egg yolks and sugar together until well combined and a pale yellow colour. 
4. Very slowly add the hot cream to the egg & sugar mixture, while continuously stirring. NOTE: it is important to do this slowly, because if it is added too fast it may basically cook the eggs...gross.
5. Once well combined, pour into 4 ramekins. Place ramekins in a large baking dish and pour enough hot water into the dish to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. 
6. Bake for 40-45 minutes. They will still jiggle/ripple when taken out of the oven. 
7. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours (for up to 3 days, if covered)
8. Take ramekins out of the fridge 15-20 min before serving. Sprinkle approx. 1 tbsp sugar evenly over the surface of each one. Using a kitchen torch (eeeee!) burn the sugar until it turns into a crispy even layer.

enjoy. :)