Fun Party spoons

The recipe in a couple of words ...

 Get yourself some white and  dark chocolate , melt  them in the microwave .. stirring occasionally 

  Some plastic spoons , pour in your melted chocolate and then decorate with some sprinkles  

Refrigerate ... and then VOILà

And I didn't get the chance to even taste them !!!

Raspberry and Vanilla cupcakes

Serves: (12 Cupcakes)
Ingredients
1 Cup Sugar
1/2 cup  Butter, softened
2 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/8 tsp Salt
1 1/3 Cups All Purpose Flour,and sift it please.:)
1/3 Cup Whole Milk

For the Frosting:
1 /2 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
½ cup Raspberry Preserves
½ tsp Vanilla Extract
1 16oz Box of Powdered Sugar
Pinch of salt

Preparation
1) Preheat your oven to 180  degrees. Line your cupcake tin with liners and set aside.
2) In a mixing bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the sugar and butter. Add the eggs and vanilla and  cream together until you get a smooth mixture. Add the dry ingredients and with the speed on low mix together and slowly add the milk and just mix everything to combine. DO NOT OVERMIX!
3)with an ice cream scoop, Scoop the batter into your lined cupcake tin, make sure its only filled ¾ of the way up because they will rise. Bake for 20 minutes and let cool for about 45 minutes before frosting.
4) To make the frosting combine together all the frosting ingredients except the fresh raspberries and mix together to combine. Add the frosting in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.


original recipe adapted from laurainthekitchen.com

Pinwheel Cookies

      Those are lovely and delicious Christmas Pinwheel Cookies. These cookies make a great project to do with children, so that they will have a nice plate of cookies to leave for Santa on Christmas eve with a tall glass of milk!

Inspired from 5min.com

Ingredients:

1 cup softened butter

2 cups AP flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated white sugar.

1 LARGE egg.
1 tsp vanilla extract.

1 tsp baking powder.

1/4 tsp salt
2 TBsp unsweetened cocoa powder.



How To?

1-In large mixing bowl cream butter and sugar together.

2-Add egg and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.

3-Gradually add flour

4-Divide the dough into 2 equal portions; blend cocoa into one portion.

5-Form each portion into a ball..and refregirate for 2 hours, or freeze for 1/2 hour.

6-Place each ball between two sheets of waxed paper lightly dusted with powdered sugar or flour and roll each into a rectangle; carefully layer one color on the other. Starting at long edge, roll into a log.

 

those 3 photos are borrowed from finecooking.com

7-Cut your log in half and wrap each portion up in plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough for at least 4 hours, or freeze for 2 hours

8-Cut in 1/4-inch slices and place on a greased baking sheet about an inch apart. Bake at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes.

hint..... this is how you can can cut your dough EASILY. use a piece of dental floss.

Biscotti Girandola

Ingredienti:

1 tazza di burro ammorbidito

2 tazze di farina 00 ( Il mulino Chiavazza)

1/2 tazza di zucchero di canna

1/2 tazza di zucchero semolato bianco.

1 uovo grande.

1 cucchiaino di estratto di vaniglia.

1 cucchiaino di lievito in polvere.

1/4 cucchiaino di sale

2 cucchiai di cacao amaro.

1-Con lo sbattitore elettrico, Mescolare il burro con lo zucchero.

2-Aggiungere l'uovo e la vaniglia .

3 Aggiungere poco a poco la farina.

4-A questo punto dividete il composto a metà, in una parte andrete ad aggiungere 2 cuchiai di cacao amaro in polvere . Impastate i due composti separatamente con le mani, velocemente per fare sciogliere il burro e ottenere due impasti lisci e morbidi .

5 schiacciateli leggermente con le mani e copriteli con della pellicola trasparente, dovranno rassodare in frigorifero per almeno un’ora, o congelare per 1/2 ora.Stendere quindi l’impasto bianco e quello nero  in due sfoglie rettangolari spesse circa 3 mm., 

6.iniziare ad arrotolare la sfoglia, dal lato più corto. Coprire il rotolo con la pellicola trasparente e lasciatelo raffreddare in frigorifero per un’altra ora.  

7-tagliare delle “fette” di 1 cm di spessore con un coltello affilato o con l'aiuto di un filo ( come dimostrato nella foto). 

8-Mettete i biscotti così ottenuti sulla carta da forno e infornate a 180°C per circa 15/18 minuti. 

Doughnuts Lollies

 Hello everyone...after a whole month of non blogging..I missed you, I missed my blog, I missed every good comment one of you once left me...I MISSED YOU GUYS.
This post was born today, a baby post....after a really bad week, I decided to have some fun in the week-end
especially that it is a long one.
And yes, you read the title correctly,,I made some doughnuts, no big deal but the fun is I made some lollies out of the left over dough( the rounded pieces in the middle)

                                                                        Ingredients
                                                               3/4 cup luke warm milk
                                                               2 1/2 TS melted butter
                                                                           1 egg  
                                                              2 1/2 ts active dry yeast
                                                                  1/4 cup fine sugar
                                                                           1/2 ts salt
                                                              3 to 3 1/4 cups of AP flour


                                                                        The Glaze
                                                             60 gm bittersweet chocolate
                                                                         2 TS milk
                                                                1/4 cup unsalted butter
                                                                     1 c conf. sugar  
                                                                      1 ts vanilla extract
                                                                     1 1/2 ts corn syrup       

 How to?
sprinkle the yeast over 2 Ts of hot water and 1/2 ts of sugar, let it stand for 5 minutes or until foamy.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, add your flour
+sugar ,mix
Add the egg+butter+milk +the yeast
 mix at low speed with the dough hook attached for 5 minutes.
cover and let the dough to proof for an hour or until doubled.

on a floured surface roll your dough into a large disc 0.5 inch thick.
cut with a doughnut cutter or any rounded cutter . and you can use a juice bottle cover to cut the small parts in the middle ( your lollies)

put your doughnuts on a baking sheet and cover it and let it rest for another 1/2 hour.

The glaze:

Put a saucepan on medium heat add your ingredients and whisk frequently until you got a smooth and silky look  .
and HERE YOU GO!!!!

Nectarine Cupcakes

  I made my first cupcake...yes, Finally ..did it!
after having a bad day,try to bake something and if turned out good,look how happy you will be.
that was exactly what happened to me,though mine were not so pretty as what I see on other websites..but at least they taste really good, me and my kids had fun making and decorating them...it was a good end to bad day!!

  Today I will be so brief and will take you quickly to the original recipe here.
Though she used peaches, I couldn't find peaches so I used nectarine. !!
Ah by the way , how was it going on foodbuzz first PFB challenge??
wish to all of you best of luck.

Ingredients:

For the batter

Cream you butter then add and mix your sugar



Add caption



Good luck to all of you  :)

My Pancakes

    Yes...today was sunday, no school,no work ,completely or -almost- relaxed mom can make PANCAKES..right?? and not only make it but also INVENT a sauce which is completely new for me at least...yet,it came out simply finger licking..

See what I mean??

     Pancake batter:
1 cup AP flour
1 cup milk
1 large egg
2 Ts vegetable oil
2 TS sugar
1 ts Baking powder
1/4 ts baking soda
pinch of salt  .

Nutella sauce:

 3 TS Nutella
 1 Ts butter
 2 Ts milk or (better heavy cream)

What to do :
for the batter,mix all the ingredients starting with the eggs and sugar then add the egg.
In a separate bowl mix all the dry ingredients , then add them to the wet ingredients the whisk them all together.
put the batter in the refrigerator for an hour before use.

For the Sauce:

in a sauce pan and over medium heat, add the nutella then stir a bit ,then add the butter and milk ,stir till all melted,shiny and smells like HEAVEN.
if it doesn't smell like what I said then  you did something wrong!!! :)

Cook your pancakes:
Use an ice cream scoop or a small espresso cup to get an even sized pancakes.
cook every pancake on high heat in an previously oiled pan (with cooking spray) for about 30 seconds on each side, flip it when you it looks like this picture

Cook all your pancakes , put them in a nice plate and serve with warm sauce.,
N.b if the sauce gets a bit thick or cold, put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
garnish with raspberries or hazelnuts......I DIDN'T HAVE ANY SORRY !!

 

My PFB #1 challenge


Buona Appetito!


My Pancakes

Ultimate Lemon Cake

   Actually this cake should've been made in the middle of August...I can hear you asking , why August!!!
simply because it is veryyyy refreshing and I can say it is MOOD ELEVATING too.
It stimulates your taste buds and fills your mouth with Lemon and  much more.....:)

All you will need for the  cake and its syrup is in this pic.+ 2 tsp lemon zest.

     
 Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour , sifted.
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1  cup sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• For the Lemon Syrup:
• 1/3 cup Lemon juice
• 1/3 cup sugar.

      What to do:
PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 180 c.

1-In a bowl of the electric mixer mix together ( yogurt+ sugar +lemon zest)    

2- Add your eggs one at a time, and mix.

3- In another bowl mix all dry ingredients.

4- Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

5-With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated.

6- Pour the batter into the prepared pan(greased and floured)and bake for 40 minutes.

7-Add the 1/3 cup lemon juice to the   1/3 cup sugar in a small pan stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear – set aside.

8-When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. 9-Cool the cake.

                       

Optional:

Lemon Glaze:1 cup  confectionar sugar + 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice. and pour over the cake.

Wanna a piece???

Original recipe partially inspired from Barefoot Contessa.

Two recipes in a row, my brownies and lemon cake on Tastespotting