Banana Crumb Muffins

I whipped up a batch of these banana muffins in under an hour when hanging out with a friend last week.  It's a fast, easy, high-reward recipe. Not only do they taste delicious, but also the smell of fresh muffins wafting out of the oven is better than any store-bought home fragrance! I wrap these up individually in plastic wrap, and grab-and-go as I rush out the door in the mornings, so they can be a perfect morning breakfast for those of us who aren't morning persons.

A few modifications on my part: I don't typically worry too much about fat or caloric content in my baking, but I followed a couple of the tips from other reviewers of this recipe. The healthy additions certainly do not detract from the recipe! Butter (in the batter) can be substituted with vegetable/canola oil or applesauce. Also, I try to use a combination of brown and white sugar instead of all white sugar in the batter.

Banana Crumb Muffins
modified from Allrecipes.com

1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 bananas, mashed
1/2 c. white sugar
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 c. melted butter or canola oil

1/3 c. packed brown sugar
2 tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. melted butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 12 muffin tins or line with muffin liners. 
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, egg, and 1/3 cup butter (or canola oil). Stir banana mixture into flour mixture until just moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. 
3. In a small bowl, mixture together remaining brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter. Stir until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins. 
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean.

bon appetit! 

Shortbread Thumbprints

I was searching for my thumbprint cookie recipe on my blog today and came up empty. I can't believe I haven't posted about one of my absolute favorite cookies yet! This cookie is a combination of almond shortbread full of buttery richness plus a bit of sweet fruit jam in the center. They're easy to make and makes the whole house smell wonderful (thanks to the almond extract!). 

This recipe is delicious as is! The only modification I make is to increase the almond extract in the cookie dough to 1 full teaspoonful. Also, when I get lazy I omit making the drizzle and eating the cookies straight out of the oven. 

A few tricks to this cookie: 

• Don't skip out on the almond extract! Substituting vanilla extract for the almond just isn't the same.
• To make perfect circular indentations in each cookie, try using the end of a chapstick tube. Wrap the chapstick tube in plastic wrap and make holes in the center of each cookie! 
• Freeze or refrigerate the cookies prior to making for 10 minutes or so, so the cookie will not spread out or flatten too much in the oven. 
• Spoon the jam or preserves into a small ziplock back, cut off the corner of the bag, and squeeze the jam into the cookie indentations for less mess. 

Raspberry and Almond Shortbread Thumbprints

1 cup butter, softened but not melted

2/3 cup white sugar

1 tsp. almond extract

2 cups flour

1/2 cup seedless jam (any flavor you like!)

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

3/4 tsp. almond extract

1 tsp. milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Mix in 1 tsp. almond extract and flour until dough comes together. Roll dough into small balls (about 1 inch) and place cookies on ungreased cookie sheets. Separate cookies about 2 inches apart. Make a small indentation in the center of each cookie and fill holes with jam. 
3. Bake for 14 to 18 minutes in preheated oven, until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned. Remove cookies from oven and cool.
4. In medium bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar, almond extract, and milk until smooth. Drizzle lightly over cooled cookies.

Celebratory Cheesecake

It was Ben's birthday this week, which warranted something special! The cake itself was an easy decision as he prefers cheesecake. I used Chantal's New York Cheesecake recipe, which is my go-to, proven cheesecake recipe. The recipe produces one HUGE, weighty, calorific cheesecake, probably due to the 4 packages of cream cheese and 1 cup of sour cream it contains. This time around, I made 1 batch of the cheesecake mixture and divided the mixture between 12 mini cupcakes (baked in a regular muffin tin) and a large 9-inch cheesecake. As you can tell, there was just enough batter to go-around.

For the mini cheesecakes, I used muffin liners and pressed a small scoop of the graham cracker crumb crust into each muffin tin. Then I filled each muffin 3/4 full with cheesecake mixture and baked at the 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Easy peasy! (Tip: For even more easy-ness, instead of making a graham cracker crust, just use a Nilla wafer as the crust for each mini cheesecake.)

Cheesecake baking tips:

• Use ingredients that are at room temperature. 
• Do not over-beat cream cheese mixture as this will incorporate air into the batter, which causes the sunken, collapsed cheesecake syndrome. 
• Use a water bath when baking cheesecakes. Wrap the springform pan in aluminum foil (to prevent water getting into the pan), then place pan in large baking tray filled up halfway with hot water. 
• Bake until the center of the cheesecake is slightly wobbly to prevent overbaking/browning of the cheesecake. 
• Patience! Allow the cheesecake to cool in oven with the heat turned off for a few hours to prevent sinking cheesecakes.

New York Cheesecake
15 grahams crackers, crushed
2 tbsp. butter, melted

4 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup milk
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup flour, sifted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan.
2. In a medium bowl, combine crushed graham crackers and melted butter, then press mixture onto bottom of springform pan.
3. In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, then eggs one at a time until just incorporated. Mix in sour cream, vanilla extract, and flour until smooth. Pour mixture into prepared pan. 
4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until cheesecake is solid except with a jiggly center. Turn oven off and let cheesecake cool in oven for 5-6 hours (or overnight). Chill in refrigerator before serving. 
5. Decorating cheesecake ideas: 
1. Arrange sliced fruit on top of cheesecake and brush with sugar syrup glaze
2. Drizzle chocolate over cheesecake
3. Chocolate ganache topping

Cheesecake Base

Cutting the fruit toppings!

The finished look!

The view from up top

molten chocolate lava cakes

I was on total chocolate craze last month. Hmm... it aligned perfectly with exam schedules, coincidence? Then as if it was meant to be, I discovered this chocolate lava cake recipe from foodwishes.blogspot.com. As if the universe was telling me to eat more chocolate! For those who have never had molten chocolate lava cakes, you have been missing out! The recipe utilized ingredients I already had and consisted only of 3 steps! Easy and delicious! You can be having your own chocolate lava cakes in a short 60 minutes! What are you waiting for? :)

As an aside, I love foodwishes.blogspot.com! The blogger makes video recipes, so you can see every step in action. It's perfect for those of us who don't quite know what "stiff peaks" or "curdled mixture" looks like.

So far, I have baked this cake 3 times. The first time it was absolute perfection, with the gooey chocolate-y inside. However, the second time, I was impatient and under-baked the cake; needless to say, it completely collapsed once I slid it out of the ramekin. Ben ate the molten chocolate all the same, when do you pass on molten warm gooey chocolate?! And the third time, I used metal muffin tins rather than ramekins and the cakes turned out overbaked. I guess I'm still working on my timing. Ideally, the cakes are done when the center of each cake is a bit jiggly, indicating the creamy, not-completely-baked insides. So, take the listed baking time as a suggestion... baking times can vary depending on your oven and the type of baking pan you used (metal or ceramic).

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
5 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. sugar
3.5 oz. dark chocolate
3 tbsp. flour
4 tsp. cocoa powder
A pinch of salt
1/8 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Butter 4 small ramekins, and set aside. Whisk eggs, egg yolks, and sugar until mixture is light and foamy. 
2. Melt dark chocolate and butter in microwave until just melted (20-30 seconds). Stir chocolate into egg mixture. Sift cocoa powder, flour, and salt into mixture. Fill ramekins with mixture. 
3. Cover ramekins with ceramic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 
4. Place ramekins in deep baking dish, and fill baking dish halfway with hot water. Bake at 425 degrees F. for 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from oven, run a knife along outside of the cake to detach cake from ramekin, and turn upside down to remove cake from ramekins. Dust with powder sugar prior to serving. 

Loving myself some chocolate! 

It's A Cream Puff Day

Oh, cream puffs! How I adore you. Especially after I realized that I can make and eat a dozen without having to break the bank at Beard Papa's!

The Beaverton Uwajimaya recently opened a new Beard Papa's (first in Oregon, I believe). Of course, I had to try them! Unfortunately, this brand-new Beard Papa's was still working out some chinks and the service was a bit haphazard. For example, the girl making the cream puffs for the customers in front of me was quite generous with the cream; but when my turn came, a different girl took over and she was more efficient, but less crowd-pleasing. The joy of enjoying my cream puff was a bit diminished when my cream puff was only half-filled.

Of course always looking for a silver lining, the affront to my cream puff inspired me to try my hand at making my own. A quick Allrecipes search landed a seemingly easy cream puff recipe. Yet, when I read the reviews, I became fearful of deflating cream puffs (a common problem with the recipe apparently). I read a few more articles and watched a video on making cream puffs before setting out.

The result? Beautiful, decadent cream puffs! I fear for my waistline... now that I have easy access to cream puff-ery! The vanilla pudding cream makes the cream puff recipe really easy, but the taste is not quite Beard Papa's worthy. Maybe it's because I substituted milk for the heavy cream. Next time, I will try filling up the cream puff shells with a pastry cream recipe (used in making fruit tarts) for additional indulgence.

Cream Puffs 
--modified from Allrecipes.com--

2 (3.5oz) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk

1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs

Directions:

1. Whisk together vanilla instant pudding mix, cream, and milk in large bowl for about 2 minutes. Transfer mixture into a gallon-size ziplock bag. Refrigerate to set.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
3. In a saucepan, bring water and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in flour and salt until mixture forms a ball. Transfer dough to a large mixing bowl and let cool for a few minutes. Using an electric mixture, beat in eggs one at a time. Beat until dough is tacky and elastic. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet. 
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Turn off oven and use a toothpick to poke a hole in each cream puff. Leave cream puff shells in oven for additional 5 minutes to prevent deflating. 
5. Remove cream puff shells from oven and let cool. Snip a small corner in ziplock bag containing pudding mixture and then fill each cream puff shell with pudding mixture. 

Some additional tips: 

• Use any pudding flavor you want. Next time, I will try chocolate! Experiment :).
• The dough was very very sticky! I got really messy and dough was everywhere! Next time, I might scoop all the dough into a large ziplock bag, cut a corner of the bag, and pipe the dough onto the baking sheets. 
• Use a ziplock bag (or pastry bag if you have one) to squeeze in cream filling into each cream puff.

Dropping batter by 2 tablespoonfuls!
I like my cream puffs big!

Cream Cheese Frosting (with Red Velvet Cupcakes)

One thing that you should know about me is that I'm a hoarder. Yep, my pantry and fridge and freezer are stocked full at all times. I dislike throwing away food, so I'll refrigerate or freeze food as long as I can. Hoarding isn't as great as it sound... When it comes around to spring cleaning, I always end up throwing away lots of freezer-burned mystery meat or expired cans.

One hoarded item was a box of red velvet cupcake mix. I probably should have made the cupcakes when I first received the mix (as a birthday gift) a few years back... But I wanted to save it for a "special" occasion; when the opportunity and the time never coincided, the mix got shoved to the back of my pantry. I found this a few weeks back, aaaand, well, cake mix can't really go bad, right? I finally made these Sprinkles (think it's a famous cupcake shop?) Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, and they still tasted pretty darn good. Bomb-dot-com good!

The cincher was the cream cheese frosting. The instructions for cream cheese frosting that came along with the mix is a definite keeper. Not too sweet with enough cream cheese flavor that shines through. One problem I had was that my frosting was too runny even after adding the required amount of powdered sugar. The solution? More powder sugar! I added 1/4 cup more powder sugar at a time, beating well after each addition. Also, I tasted the frosting (yummy!) after each addition, in order to avoid overly sweet frosting. I was trying achieve the perfect nirvana in terms of frosting: a stiffer frosting that also isn't sickeningly sweet. The original recipe is below, add more powder sugar at your pleasure!


Cream Cheese Frosting

8oz cold cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter, firm but not cold
1/8 tsp. salt
3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter, and salt on medium-low speed until smooth and creamy (about 2 to 3 minutes).
2. Reduce speed to low, and gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until incorporated. Add vanillla.
3. If frosting is too thick: add milk 1 tsp. at a time until frosting is at a spreadable consistency.
4. If frosting is too thin: add additional powder sugar 1/4 cup at a time until frosting is at spreadable consistency.

Diuretic Muffins?!

Mini Muffins

Full-Size

These no-butter and high-fiber muffins are so delicious! I was skeptical that anything this healthy could taste good, but I was definitely proven wrong. This is a pastry you can feel good eating in the morning (without that guilty dessert-for-breakfast mindset)! The truly high fiber content made me nickname these "diuretic muffins," as I passed them out to my pharmacy school classmates!

I always add more banana to my banana breads, so the banana content in the recipe is bumped up from the original "1 cup mashed banana" to 1 1/2 cups. Also, you can replace the vegetable oil with applesauce for even more wholesome-ness. 

The recipe says it makes 12 large muffins; however, I managed to get 12 large muffins and 12 mini muffins out of this recipe. Make sure you grease the muffin tins if you're not using paper baking cups! You don't want to have your muffins stuck in the pans.

I also learned the difference between "rolled oats" and "quick oats" after a little bit of Googling. Apparently, the two are interchangeable in most recipes. Rolled oats, or old-fashioned oats, are oat grains rolled flat and dried. Quick oats are a bit more processed, since they are rolled thinner than old-fashioned oats. In terms of cooking or baking, rolled oats give a more chewy texture, while the quick oats, since they absorb water more quickly, provide a smoother texture. There are also "instant oats" and "steel-cut oats". These CANNOT be substituted for the first two (rolled oats and quick oats). Steel-cut oats are the least processed and retain the oat shape, giving a chewier, nuttier taste. Instant oats are the thinnest rolled oats and give a mushy texture. 

Banana Oat Muffins

modified from Allrecipes.com

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup rolled oats (I substituted with quick oats with great results)

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil (or applesauce)

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup mashed bananas

Almond slices, garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl.
3. In a large bowl, beat egg lightly. Stir in milk, oil, and vanilla. Add the mashed bananas, and combine thoroughly. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined. (Note: over-stirring creates a chewy rather than light muffin texture.) 
4. Line muffin tins with paper bake cups or grease muffin tins. Fill batter almost to the brim of the muffin tins. Sprinkle almond slices on top of batter, if using. 
5. Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. 

Green Bean Soup

For Chinese New Year's, I celebrated with hot pot and traditional green bean soup. "Soup" is a bit of a misnomer, since it's actually a sweet, dessert dish. The color of the soup may also surprise you, since it's more yellow than green (depends on type of bean used). This is a delicious soup that satisfies whether served hot or chilled.

When I asked my mom for the "recipe," what I got was basically this:

1. Boil the mung bean and tapioca separately, then combine in a large pot.
2. Add sugar (brown, white, or cane- it's really all up to you) to taste.

Below is the process I used and pictures of the ingredients I used. The mung bean and tapioca is easily obtained at any Asian store (such as Ranch 99). Be warned- as with many Chinese recipes, there are no hard and fast rules. The recipe is based on what worked for me. The measurements for amount of water, sugar, dried mung bean and tapioca are all estimates. Watch the tapioca while cooking it! I burnt it the first time, because I wasn't paying attention to the pot and it was cooking on high heat. Cleaning that mess was a pain!

Peeled Split Mung Bean

Mini Tapioca Pearls

Sugar

Green Bean Soup
(serves 12)

7 ounces of dried peeled split mung bean (about half the bag)
1 1/2 sticks brown sugar cane (all I had on hand)
White sugar, to taste

3/4 cup tapioca

Directions:

1. Rinse and drain mung bean in cold water several times. Place mung bean in a large 5 quart pot with about 16 cups water. Cover and cook at medium heat until boiling. Decrease heat, and continue simmering for 15 additional minutes. Periodically, remove bubble residue at surface of soup. Add brown sugar cane. Remove from heat. 
2. Place tapioca and enough water to cover tapioca in small saucepan. Cook on low heat while stirring periodically to prevent burning. When tapioca is no longer opaque, remove from heat. Add the cooked tapioca pearls to green bean soup. 
3. Add white sugar to taste. 

Autumn Cheesecake

This is an "evolved" cheesecake, a cheesecake with sophistication and all the bells and whistles, perfect when you want something different from the classic cheesecake. I love the apple topping! It lulls me into thinking, "Perhaps this is a fruit?" How can anything with apple be anything less than healthy and fresh? :)

A few tips from other reviews on this cheesecake include making a crumb topping over the cheesecake with handful of brown sugar, handful of flour, and cutting in butter chunks. Also, bake the cheesecake in a water bath to allow for even cooking and cool the cheesecake in the oven with the oven door open for 45 minutes to an hour to prevent cracking.

Autumn Cheesecake
modified from Allrecipes.com

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3 tbsp. white sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
4 cups thinly sliced apples
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup chopped pecans, 3 tbsp. sugar, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, and melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
2. In large bowl, beat cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar on medium speed until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in vanilla. Pour mixture onto prepared crust.
3. Microwave apple slices for a 2 minutes until softened. Stir together 1/3 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, then toss mixture with apples to coat. Layer apple slices over cream cheese filling. Sprinkle 1/4 cup chopped pecans over cheesecake.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 60-70 minutes. With a knife, loosen cake from rim of pan. Let cool before removing the rim of pan. Chill cake in refrigerator before serving.

Homemade Apple Sauce

I had two bags of dying apples (Granny Smiths and Fujis) in my fridge. Perfect medium for a first attempt at homemade applesauce. Did some hunting on the Internet and found an easy (one step!) recipe on Allrecipes.com. After an hour of peeling and slicing and dicing, the apples were ready to be boiled in sugar, water, and dash of cinnamon.

The first batch came out great, tangy with the rich undertones of autumn. However, as I brainstormed on how to add a "kick" to the basic applesauce recipe, Ben suggested... whiskey?! He was quite convincing on the attributes of whiskey- rounds out the taste, fuller and deeper flavor. So the next batch included a shot of Johnnie Walker Green Label. After cooking off the alcohol (you'll know when...), the result is a blend between perks of adulthood and a childhood favorite. 

Applesauce 

--modified from Allrecipes.com--

3 1/2 cups chopped apples

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup white sugar

Dash of cinnamon

Shot of whiskey

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, combine apples, water, sugar, cinnamon, and whiskey. Cover and cook over medium heat for 20-30 minutes until apples are soft and whiskey has evaporated. Allow to cool, then mash with fork or potato masher.