…

Opium used to be the big drug back in the day. I guess it was the crystal meth of the time, around the turn of the century/1920′s. It contains something like 12% morphine, and codeine & hydrocodone are derivatives of the same family of drug- hence the name opiates. It’s serious stuff. Laudanum was made from opium & alcohol & was used to treat a variety of stomach ailments fairly regularly back then. But in modern times, all we know about it is what we read from an Edgar Allan Poe story or William S. Burrough’s novels, not to mention glib pop culture references. We all remember that Seinfeld episode where Elaine’s urine test comes back positive for opium because she ate a poppy seed bagel, right? I always thought such a thing couldn’t happen, unless you eat 1,000,000 poppy seed bagels in one day. But I was wrong: eating poppy seed muffins, cakes or bagels can indeed land you in a heap of trouble. As a matter of fact, back in January of 2005, Anahad O’Connor wrote in the New York Times Science section that “eating just two poppy seed bagels heavily coated with seeds can result in morphine in a person’s system for hours, leading a routine drug test to come back positive… [therefore] because of this possibility, the federal government recently raised the threshold for opiates in workplace testing to 2,000 nanograms a milliliter, up from 300.” And by that reasoning, this cake could possibly get you fired from your job or make you lose custody of your kids. It’s loaded with poppy seeds. Loaded. Both in the cake itself and on top.

…

Which is fine with me. I love me some poppy seeds. Poppy seed bagels are my favorite bagels ever. So when I was reading one of the (many, many, many, as you can see here) books I got for Christmas, Cake Ladies by Jodi Rhoden, and I saw this triple layer poppy seed cake with almond icing, I just had to make it. I never make cakes, as you probably know. This was an exception. It’s a huge cake: a pound of butter & a half-dozen eggs. But worth it. However… I ended up halving the recipe & making two dozen cupcakes instead. I know, I know.

…

But it just seemed so big. So many eggs, so much butter, etc. And it is big, because if half the recipe makes two dozen cupcakes, the whole recipe must make FOUR DOZEN. That is huge. And crazy. And ¼ cup of poppy seeds is a lot of poppy seeds. It’s a wonder I didn’t get high off it. As far as the taste goes, they were pretty unique, I have to say. Very different, but I loved them. Cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, poppy seeds, almond extract & the tang from the vinegar-milk combination; all very subtle but what flavor! A surprisingly delicious winter cupcake. Moist cake filled with tons of warming spices, albeit subtle like I said, and then some crunch from the seeds. I topped them with the almond buttercream from the book and then some little flowers made of almond slices with poppy seeds for centers. Really cute, I thought. Next time, however, I’d make little red poppies out of fondant. ‘Cause that’d be doubly cute.

…

Of course, I’m giving you the adapted cupcake version of the recipe that I made. For the full cake recipe, you’ll have to buy the book. Bwahahaha.

POPPY SEED CUPCAKES WITH ALMOND BUTTERCREAM ICING (adapted from a recipe by Lisa Goldstein of Celo, NC, from Cake Ladies by Jodi Rhoden)

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 3 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 cup milk at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 ½ teaspoons pure almond extract
• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• a pinch of ground cardamom
• ¼ cup poppy seeds

Icing:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened, room temperature
• 2 ½ – 3 cups confectioner’s sugar
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon pure almond extract
• 2-3 tablespoons half-and-half (plus more if needed)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350° F. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites together with the cream of tartar on high speed, until soft peaks form. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl of the stand mixer, this time fitted with the paddle, cream the butter, sugar and honey together until light and fluffy. While beating on low speed, add egg yolks, one at a time. Beat after each addition. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl, and beat again until the mixture is smooth, light and creamy.
3. In a glass measuring cup, combine the milk, vinegar and almond extract. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg. Add that mixture to the creamed butter mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk mixture, and mixing lightly but thoroughly between each addition, until ingredients are just combined.
5. Add the poppy seeds, folding them in by hand until combined. Quickly re-whisk the egg whites by hand if they’ve separated, then fold them into the batter gently, in three batches.
6. Add cupcake liners to muffin tins and fill each with batter, around two-thirds full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in each cupcake comes out clean. Allow to cool 10 minutes in tins, then remove to wire rack. Cool thoroughly before frosting.
7. To make the icing, cream the butter and confectioner’s sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer until it makes a thick paste. add and combine the vanilla & almond extracts. Then add the half-and-half, one tablespoon at a time, blending on low speed until fully incorporated.
8. Add more if needed to achieve a creamy, fluffy consistency. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the paddle, bottom and sides of the bowl. Re-mix until no lumps remain.

Excuse the frosting job on the back left one; I was trying to find the best way of doing it

…

They came out really rustic-looking. So much so I almost wish I had one of those cake stands made of an old tree. They’d be so sweet on one of those. Dammit, I wish I had one now! I’m going to have to get my hands on some cut down trees & get Jay to start cuttin’ it up! He’s a big, handy fella. He can do it. Why buy when you can DIY!

If you’re looking for a unique recipe to try, this is it. It’d be fabulous as a triple layer cake, too, of course. And in case you’re wondering, I got a lot of cookbooks for Christmas, so you’ll be seeing a lot of recipes from them in the coming months. And I’m not into New Year’s resolutions so they’ll be loaded with butter & eggs & sugar. I’ve got to maintain my girlish figure somehow.

And if poppy seeds don’t interest you, later on this week there’ll be a post featuring a giveaway I’m doing together with Yoyo from Topstitch, so keep your eyes peeled.

Teavana teas are the best. I am in love with them. My personal favorites (for drinking) are Cacao Mint Black, Samurai Chai Mate/White Ayurvedic Chai blend and JavaVana Mate. However I haven’t found one yet that I’m not into. My mother has a ton of them that her friend Mara (hi, Mara!) sent her in a ‘Tea Lovers’ gift set, so that’s where I go when I want to try a new flavor. Or when I want to experiment. Like, for example, what I wanted to do when I got this particular book.

…

A few months ago, I ordered a book that I had been sorta lusting over for a while. It’s called Canning For a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry by Liana Krissoff/photographs by Rinne Allen. It arrived on a warm (okay- muggy, hot & slightly stifling), beautiful August day during which I had been out gardening, so I only briefly flipped through it at first. After cleaning up, coming inside & showering, I settled in with a can of ice cold Coke Zero & pored over every page. What a freakin’ gorgeous book! Filled with amazing recipes (not just canning but baking too!) and glorious photos. If you don’t have it, buy it. You won’t regret it.

One of the recipes in this book was a recipe for tea jelly. Just jelly made with tea. Well, tea, sugar, pectin and lemon juice. Sort of like an iced tea jelly, or a sweet tea jelly. I knew I had to make it. So I did. And the tea I used was Teavana’s Frutto Bianco Pearls white tea, which is described as:

Tropical fruits effortlessly complement hand-rolled, delicate white tea pearls. A blend of kiwi, coconut and candied tropical fruit bits tempt you to pull up a hammock and sip your cares away! Ingredients: white tea, apples, rose hips, lemongrass, citrus pieces, kiwi bits, coconut chips, lemon myrtle, candied pineapple & papaya.

-From Teavana.com

…

I know, it sounds to die for. It is. And I thought it’d make a fantastic jelly.

The tea in the canister.

…

It did indeed make a beautiful looking jelly…

…

I have to say, I love all the recipes for tea-infused jellies & jams (as if you couldn’t tell?). It’s such an easy way to really make an average every day item stand out. It turns an ordinary preserve into something different, something that people can’t quite put their finger on. My family has a big history with tea; being Irish, my Nana Agnes’ side of the family drank tea like it was going out of style..I was raised on it, although coffee was a big part of life too, tea seemed to be the main component. It was always around.. black teas, green teas, herbal teas, sweetened with milk & sugar or just honey. When I was sick as a kid, my mom or nana would make me a big mug of tea with milk & sugar, and even now whenever I’m not feeling my best, I find that it’s a great cure. Tea is a huge part of my childhood memories. Now that I’m older, & my tastes have matured slightly, I like fancier stuff; but I always have a soft spot for a hot cup of black tea or English breakfast tea with milk & sugar.

So I made the jelly, labeled it, and put it aside. I sent a jar to Lyns (upon her request & also as payment for all the chutney’s she sent!) and promptly shoved my jars to the back of the line. Then recently, one Sunday morning, I was looking for another jam and found it! And I thought, “I need to make something special to serve this with.” So I took out a jar and I made some scones from the book, Regan’s Oat Scones, just specifically to have with this delicious jelly, for a brunch/lunch kinda thing.

Speaking of, you can use any tea you like, even herbal tea if you can’t tolerate caffeine, to make this jelly. Liana says she’s had excellent results with Oolong & Earl Grey, but I don’t see why you couldn’t use pretty much any kind of tea there is. Even pre-measured tea bags (although you’d typically need about 3 teabags to each tablespoon loose tea required). Trader Joe’s makes a white pomegranate tea that’d probably give lovely results, & my mother drinks a spicy vanilla chai by Bigelow that would also make a great jelly. Peppermint teas, citrus teas, musky teas. EXPERIMENT! Use a wintery blend for winter, a spring-y one for warmer weather… it’d be such a fun way to try new teas in a different way.

TEA JELLY (adapted from Liana Krisstoff’s book, Canning For a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry)

Makes 3 half-pint jars

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons loose tea leaves
• 2 ¼ cups boiling water
• ¼ cup strained fresh lemon juice
• 3 ¼ cups sugar
• 3 cups of Green Apple Pectin stock (see recipe below) or what I did- 1 package Certo liquid pectin

Directions:

1. Prepare for water bath canning: Sterilize the jars and keep them hot (in water) in the canning pot, put a small plate in the freezer, and put the flat lids in a heatproof bowl.
2. Put the tea leaves in a heatproof bowl and pour in the boiling water. Let steep for 5 minutes*, then pour through a sieve into a 6-to 8-quart saucepan.
3. Stir the pectin/pectin stock, lemon juice and sugar into the tea. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture registers about 220° F on a candy thermometer or a small dab of it passes the freezer test (place some on the frozen plate and put back in the freezer for one minute, then remove; if the mixture wrinkles when you nudge it, it’s ready), about 25-30 minutes.
4. Ladle boiling water from the canning pot into the bowl with the lids. Using a jar lifter, remove the jars from the canning pot, carefully pouring the water from each one back into the pot, and place them upright on a clean, folded dish towel. Drain the water off the jar lids.
5. Ladle the hot jelly into the jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace at the top. Use a damp paper towel to wipe the rims of the jars, then put a flat lid & band on each jar, adjusting the band so it’s fingertip tight.
6. Return the jars to the canning pot in a canning rack, making sure the water covers the jars by at least 1 inch. Bring to a boil, and boil for 5 minutes to process. Remove the jars to the folded towel and do not disturb for 12 hours, except to check the seal after one hour by pressing down on the center of each lid; if it can be pushed down it hasn’t sealed, and must be refrigerated immediately. After 12 hours, label sealed jars & store.

Instead of printing labels, I just tied some of the labels that come with the book (YES! Labels come with the book! SO CUTE!) on with some twine.

…

How cute are they? Very. How awful is my handwriting? Very.

The deliciously special item I chose to make to eat it with was a scone. Not just any scone- but one made with oats, yogurt and honey (or maple syrup, but I used honey). Add the tea-infused jelly as a topping and it’s a free train ride to dreamy-town. I love scones anyway, but these are totally different than any other scones I’ve made. And with the jelly; seriously just forget it. No words. I halved this recipe because 5 eggs was a bit ridiculous at the time, although I wish I hadn’t! You can never have too many scones… especially these beautiful scones right here.

…

REGAN’S OAT SCONES (from Canning For a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry)

Ingredients:

• 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking (not instant) oats, plus extra for sprinkling (if desired)
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 2 cups (4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
• ½ cup yogurt
• ½ cup honey or maple syrup
• 5 large eggs
• turbinado sugar (optional, for sprinkling)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flours, oats, baking powder, sugar and salt. Using your fingertips, two knives held together, or a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until the largest pieces are the size of peas.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt, honey or maple syrup, and 4 of the eggs. Pour the mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just incorporated; do not overmix.. The dough will be somewhat sticky.
4. Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface. Flour your hands, then pat the dough out to ¾” to 1″ inch thick. Cut into 2 ½” inch rounds and place on the prepared baking sheets. Gather up leftover dough, handling it as little as possible, and pat it out to cut more rounds. If the kitchen is warm, put the baking sheets in the fridge for 30 minutes or so to firm up, so they don’t spread too much in the oven.
5. In a small bowl whisk the remaining egg together with 2 teaspoons cold water and brush the tops of the scones with it. Sprinkle with oats or turbinado sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating and switching the pans halfway through, until deep golden brown. Remove to wire racks.
6. Serve warm or at room temperature, preferably split & spread with jam or jelly.

…

I got about 19 scones using the above recipe halved & using my 3-inch biscuit cutter to make them. You may think that’s plenty, but not when there are a ton of grabby hands around asking for baked goods all the time! I also used oats & gold crystal sugar (instead of turbinado) on top. They were so amazing, I could barely stop eating them. Thankfully, they’re (slightly) healthier than most scones. Sweet, but not too sweet. They’d work beautifully alongside a savory jelly too, I bet. Like a pepper jelly that’s on the sweeter side?

As I mentioned above in the tea jelly recipe, the author Liana prefers to use a homemade pectin stock for her jellies & jams. I am not so particular, but I’ll include the directions for doing so here just in case you’re far more ambitious than I. I’m lazy, remember? But now is a great time to do this because of the crazy amount of apples available. It’s apple season, after all. Make some & stock up on it if you’re not a lazy bitch. Like me.

GREEN APPLE PECTIN STOCK (also from Canning For a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry)

Makes 3 cups

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds Granny Smith apples

Directions:

1. Cut the apples into eighths, removing the stems, and put the apples- peels, cores, seeds & all- in a 6-to 8-quart saucepan. Add 6 cups water, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil, stirring occasionally, until the apples are completely broken down and the peels have separated from the pulp, 30-40 minutes.
2. Set a very large, very fine mesh sieve (or jelly bag) over a deep bowl or pot. Pour the apples and their juice into the sieve and let drain for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally but not pressing down too hard on the solids; discard the solids. You should have about 5 ½ cups juice.
3. Rinse the saucepan and pour in the apple juice. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until the juice is reduced to about 3 cups (pour into a large heatproof measuring cup to check it), about 20 minutes.
4. Transfer to a clean container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for several months.

Lyns had tried the jar I sent her long before I remembered mine, and she said it was amazing- I have to agree. This tea made a spectacular jelly! It also just goes to show you that you don’t have to make the pectin stock to get a delicious jelly. Of course, I’m sure it feels slightly more rewarding if you do. But lazy bitches unite- we don’t need no stinking apple stock. We have modern convenience at our fingertips.

..

And the scones, they are phenomenal. Together, they’d be a great pair on Thanksgiving morning for breakfast. They have a sweet/not sweet borderline flavor that makes them more biscuit-y & perfect for accompanying a hearty bacon & eggs breakfast too. Also would be excellent on a cold winter’s night, right before bed. I had mine warm, and I definitely think they’re best eaten that way. Warm yours up if you’re eating them the next day, etc, or even toast them.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, it’s almost that time! With each post, as I did for Halloween, I’m going to post a vintage or retro postcard, just because I like ‘em.

…

Remember last week when I said nowadays I take my whiskey in the form of marmalade… or cupcakes? Heh. Did you know then what was coming with this post? Anyway, I decided before the Halloween treats get into full swing, I’d do a little something different. Those of you who are Facebook fans of CR saw a preview of these the other day, but sadly the way Facebook compresses photos, even when they say they’re “hi-res” leaves a lot to be desired. Hopefully these photos look a bit better… if not, at least there’s some semi-interesting storytelling coming your way.

One of my absolute most beloved shows on television is Boardwalk Empire. Thank you, HBO, for having some of the best shows on television, ALWAYS. It just so happens that not only am I a big Steve Buscemi fan (Valley Stream represent! Okay so I’m not from Valley Stream, but I’m close enough), but that time in history, particularly in American history, is one of my favorites. I always say I was born 81 years too late; I should’ve been born in 1900 and been a suffragette & a flapper in the roaring ’20′s. Yes, it’s highly romanticized, and in reality it wasn’t a very easy time to be alive, but still. I’m an old soul & I think I was definitely meant to be around then… or perhaps I was, in another life. In that same vein, a new documentary by Ken Burns premiered on Sunday, called Prohibition, and it too is fantastic.

My great-grandfather Tom Rooney was a rum-runner during Prohibition, starting when my grandmother & her brother were babies (my grandmother was born in 1918, her brother 1919). As Prohibition wore on, it got a bit more dangerous & by the mid-to-late 1920′s he had quite a few children & it wasn’t much worth the risk any more. On the other side, as a child my grandfather used to go & get/bring home the disguised beer in an aluminum can (called “rushing the duck”) in exchange for some bakery buns (you can see where I get my priorities from) or a quarter from his uncle. Not to mention the fact that my aforementioned great-grandfather owned a bar. We’re a big liquor lovin’ family. On those sides alone, we’re Irish, German, Prussian, Austrian, etc… so what else do you expect? Not to give in to a stereotype or anything but I mean, last week I posted lemon-orange whiskey marmalade. This week it’s whiskey cupcakes. Forget about the many reasons why, it’s clear I might as well have a Tommy gun under my arm, a cigarette hanging from my mouth & a stolen case full of Pimm’s next to my bathtub full of homemade gin.

Obviously, the inspiration from these cupcakes came from both HBO’s Boardwalk Empire as well as the Ken Burns’ documentary Prohibition, not to mention some old photos of my grandparents, and first & foremost Jay. The photos of my grandparents, while from 1937, aren’t from the exact same era, but they’re so ‘Bonnie & Clyde‘ looking that they just reminded me of Prohibition… & guns & liquor, too, haha. Not that there’s any of that in the pictures!

…

How awesome are those photos? I love them. I have two photos of both my great-grandmothers that actually are from 1919/1920, one can be found at this post, but somehow the feel of the above pictures seem to capture the essence & style I was looking for better.

As far as Jay’s part in all this, he was really the main catalyst. A while back, he was out with his friends at a bar & tasted something new: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey. He immediately thought of me baking with it, and bought some. How cute is he? Very. So I was thinking of what I’d make with it, perhaps a rum cake, except without the rum but with the JD… and maybe a honey glaze? Then I tasted it. Okay, well, I’m not a whiskey connoisseur nor am I a fan of Jack Daniel’s. I much prefer the sweeter, smoother taste of Jameson (and preferably in coffee if anything), so this new blend of Jack with honey liqueur was not really that different to me than regular Jack. Sure, I got the honey smell, however I tasted good ol’ Jack more than the honey. But I could tell that when added to some sugar, it’d be really delicious. So I decided to just go with cupcakes! I didn’t get the idea for the theme until the season 2 premiere of Boardwalk Empire, and of course the first night of Prohibition. What a better way to enjoy these TV shows than with some cupcakes filled with whiskey!?

…

And boy, did I ever make cupcakes. I made honey whiskey cupcakes with some delicious Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey whiskey in both the cake & the frosting, topping them off with sugar pearls, gold chunky crystal sugar & teeny little liquor bottles (courtesy of Primp My Cupcake at Etsy) on them… frosted with a jumbo closed star tip from The Cupcake Social, black liners are from Wilton. Keepin’ it classy!

…

Aren’t they the cat’s pajamas?

JACK DANIEL’S HONEY WHISKEY PROHIBITION CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. sea salt
• ½ cup Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey whiskey liqueur
• 3 tablespoons sour cream or yogurt
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup honey
• 2 eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix yogurt/sour cream, vanilla, whiskey; set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, cream butter until fluffy. Add honey and sugar; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time.
4. Add half of the reserved dry ingredients to the butter mixture; mix on low until just combined. With mixer running on low, slowly add the whiskey mixture.
5. Add remaining dry ingredients until just combined.
6. Fill cupcake liners ⅔ full and bake 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

JACK DANIEL’S TENNESSEE HONEY (ITALIAN MERINGUE) BUTTERCREAM

Ingredients:

• ½ cup sugar plus 4 tablespoons
• 2 large egg whites
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• ⅓ cup water
• ½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled
• ¼ teaspoon honey
• ¼-½ teaspoon Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey whiskey liqueur

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring sugar and ⅓ cup water to a boil. Continue boiling until syrup reaches 238° degrees on a candy thermometer (soft-ball stage).
2. Meanwhile, place egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat on low speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, and beat on medium-high speed until stiff but not dry; do not overbeat.
3. With mixer running, add syrup to whites in a stream, beating on high speed until no longer steaming, about 3 minutes. Add butter bit by bit, beating until spreadable, 3 to 5 minutes; beat in honey, then the whiskey. If icing curdles, keep beating until smooth. Don’t be alarmed if the frosting gets “slippery” in the bowl; that’s from the alcohol. It’ll pipe just fine.

What a perfect way to sneak your alcohol- put it in a cupcake! As I was making these I came up with another amazing idea: make a whiskey custard, then fill honey cupcakes with it, and top them off with a whiskey/honey buttercream. I bet a whiskey custard would knock ‘em dead. And they’d also be great for New Year’s cupcakes. Although I have to make a confession: I didn’t make the above buttercream. I just made a confectioner’s sugar buttercream and added some whiskey & honey (similar to this recipe). Only because it was late, I had eaten a big meal, I was tired, and the thought of the boiling sugar & the whipping of egg whites into meringue made me want to crawl into bed. Either way, they’re amazeballs. Whiskey makes a great frosting!

Another confession? I’d much prefer this frosting on a plain vanilla cake as opposed to the modified honey-cake I used. It was good, don’t get me wrong. However I must say it felt a bit like overkill… I think it’d be better with just a cupcake made with pure vanilla topped with the whiskey-based frosting. I’m a bit boring like that.

…

Like anything else, creating them/decorating them is only half the presentation. You have to dress the part. So I wore my brand new wingtip brogues. Nucky Thompson ain’t got nothin’ on me!

The consensus was that these cupcakes (and the shoes) were super cute & super good. Try ‘em. Preferably while listening to Sophie Tucker.

Whiskey is an extremely fall/winter-ish addition to any baked good or food (or drink). It’s warming by it’s very nature. So this recipe will work excellently all winter, substituting bourbon or scotch or any kind of good quality whiskey for the Jack Daniel’s I used; I’d just remove the honey, especially in the cupcakes (& in turn up the sugar content) unless you’re really looking for that particular flavor. Honey can be kinda obvious in some recipes, it’s not always subtle, so just keep that in mind.

Happy No-More-Prohibition (even though it was actually repealed on December 5th, 1933, you can still celebrate now)!

…

“Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits. Fanatics will never learn that, though it be written in letters of gold across the sky. It is the prohibition that makes anything precious.” ❦ Mark Twain

Before I continue with this recipe, I want to remind you not to forget to enter to win a gorgeous Shabby Apple apron! Yep, if you’re a U.S. resident you’re eligible to win this super adorable Wildberry Pie apron. The giveaway ends July 2nd, so make sure you go here, read the details, and enter. Also, a few days ago Michelle (from Kissed by Sweets) gave me a blog award! Thank you, Michelle. Lil’ ol me getting a blog award! Mama always said I was special. Anyway it’s called the Versatile Blogger Award, and with this award comes responsibility. I must give the award to other blogs I’m currently loving, so here goes:

..

• TOPSTITCH
• Is This Thing On?
• textdrivebys
• Love Big, Bake Often
• Twwly
• Sweetopia
• The Hip Girl’s Guide to Homemaking
• Food in Jars
• Bake at 350º
• Baketastic
• The Inky Kitchen

I happen to be THE WORST commenter ever, so if you’re the owner of one of the aforementioned blogs, don’t expect to see many from me. But I really do read them all the time and love them. So with this award I’m also supposed to tell you a few things (like 7) about myself…  and you all who I mentioned, are in turn, supposed to do this same thing. Although I’m not a stickler for rules (ha!), so I won’t whip any of you with wet noodles if you don’t. Let’s see, 7 things about me, which is kinda rare here. I mean, I talk about myself all the time, but not in minute unrelated-to-baking detail… so I’ll just wrap this up quickly: I’m sunburned (for one of the few times in my born-&-raised-in-NY life I could be called a ‘redneck‘), I have my natural haircolor for the first time in like 8+ years, I’m currently wearing a NOFX t-shirt, I’m currently listening to (very old) White Zombie, I’m planning on making Meyer lemon curd & cream cheese pound cake later on this week, my nail polish is currently Velvet Voyeur by Essie and last but not least… I’m awesome.

So here’s the deal with this recipe. I don’t like Green tea (more on that later). I don’t like Mark Bittman; yeah, sure he’s got some good recipes but he’s such a whiny sourpuss bastard (I’m sorry Mark but you are, and the curmudgeon bit is getting old). The entire time I watched Spain… on the road Again, and the scene featured him, I wanted to slit my throat with all of his bitching & complaining. I don’t really like honey; it’s good in honey cake or some kinds of tea but I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan. I’m more into raw sugar/German rock sugar in my tea. I do like mint, though, and I grow it in my garden. There’s a whole lot about this recipe I’m not a big fan of, but as they say, the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts. Plus- it’s hot, granita is easy to make, and I’m lazy. I’ve made it before & I have to say, there’s probably nothing simpler. And when it’s so hot out the devil himself knocks on your door & asks if you’ve got central air, you don’t want anything complex.

Granita is an Italian dessert, specifically Sicilian, traditionally made from sugar, water, and flavoring. The most popular in Italy being lemon and almond, it has expanded into chocolate & other flavors. The texture can run the gamut from sorbet-like to snow-cone-like and everything in between. This one is a chunkier, icier one. I like all the different textures, myself, my favorites being the smooth Italian ice kind and the really ice crystal-y kind.

So like I said above, if I can be brutally honest (and when am I ever not?)… I love tea. I really do. I love all kinds of teas; herbal, chai, black, white, oolong, etc. However… personally, and pardon my French… but I think Green tea sucks hardcore balls. It’s not good, at all. And if it is good, it’s because it’s combined with other flavors & sweeteners (i.e. honey, lemon, orange, pomegranate, etc). But I totally get the health benefits of it (source):

1. Lowers your risk of cancer. Although the studies of how green tea affects cancerous cells are still in their infancy, there have been human trials which indicate that it does inhibit cells from developing cancer. EGCG in green tea regulates and inhibits cancer growth by killing cells that are growing inappropriately. In Japan, a study of 500 women with Stage I and Stage II breast cancer found that increasing their green tea consumption before and after surgery significantly lowered the risk of recurrence. Another analysis of 22 studies of the correlation between green tea and lung cancer concluded that by increasing your intake of green tea by two cups a day may reduce the risk of developing lung cancer by 18%.
2. Eases the pain of rheumatoid arthritis. Study results reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that polyphenol antioxidants in green tea benefits suffers of arthritis by reducing the incidence and severity of the disease. EGCG protects cartilage destruction and reduces joint swelling and pain. This leads many scientists and health professionals to recommend green tea as a legitimate remedy for treating arthritis.
3. Stabilizes your cholesterol levels. Researchers believe that green tea lowers your cholesterol levels by reducing its absorption in your digestive tract and increasing the rate of which it is excreted. However, your body does need cholesterol to build cell membranes, insulate nerve fibres and create hormones. For this, green tea benefits you by preventing the conversion of LDL cholesterol into it’s more dangerous, oxidized form. Oxidized LDL is one of the main factors in the development of atherosclerosis (the build of plaque that blocks your arteries as LDL gets sticky and clings to your artery walls) and increases your risk of heart attack or stroke. The amazing antioxidant effects of green tea protect this, helping to keep your arteries clean.
4. Prevents cardiovascular disease. A Japanese study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed significant reductions in deaths from cardiovascular disease among green tea drinkers. The study found that over an 11 year test period, individuals who drank more than 5 cups per day had a 16% less chance of mortality and mortality related to cardiovascular disease when compared to individuals who drank less than one cup per day. They also found that green tea was especially beneficially in preventing strokes, due in large part to the antioxidants and how they prevent clogged arteries.
5. Boosts your immune system. Catechins, the antioxidant polyphenol compounds, have been shown to have a major impact in your immune system. Research conducted by the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 2003 revealed that theanine, found in green tea, boosted the activity of the gamma delta T cells that form part of our adaptive and innate immunity. The study followed a group of coffee drinkers and a group of tea drinkers who each drank 600ml of their drink daily. Blood samples taken four weeks later quite clearly showed that production of these anti-bacterial proteins were five times higher in those drinking tea.
6. Promotes weight loss. Both green tea and green tea extract have been shown to fight obesity and lower LDL cholesterol – both of which ultimately lead to a reduced risk of heart disease and diabetes. The polyphenols in green tea are extremely useful for dissolving triglycerides, a substance in the liver and small intestine made up of mostly sugar and fat, and this is thought to be the reason green tea benefits fat loss. EGCG is also known to stimulate your metabolism and accelerate weight loss. When combined with the caffeine in green tea, this causes your central nervous system to release fat into the bloodstream to be used as fuel which burns your body fat off.
7. Reduces tooth decay. Antibacterial properties found in green tea are also used by your body to kill the bacteria that causes plaque on your teeth. Research by the Journal of Periodontology has also shown that for every cup of green tea you drink, there is a decrease in indicators for gum disease. Fluoride is also found in green tea which helps to protect against cavities.
8. Effective in the treatment of multiple sclerosis. In 2007, Dr. Orhan Aktas from the Institute of Neuroimmunology conducted a study of how green tea benefits sufferers of multiple sclerosis. While current patients do not have many options to prevent tissue damage and disability, he found that the flavonoid EGCG found in green tea could have a huge impact on multiple sclerosis. He concluded that EGCG is capable of directly protecting against neuronal injury in living brain tissue and that EGCG constituents may open up a new therapeutic avenue for treating MS by combining anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective capacities.
9. Slows the onset of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. A recent report published in the journal Phytomedicine has found substantial evidence that the enzymes found in green tea protect your brain cells from damage. Another study conducted by the University of South Florida looked at the effects of antioxidant EGCG. It was shown to be a protein blocker which prevented the chemical reactions that can lead to nerve damage that can lead to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
10. Fights the cause of allergies in your body. Methylated epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) has been shown to block a cells receptor involved in producing an allergic response. By blocking the production of histamine and immunoglobulin E (IgE), two compounds in the body that are chiefly involved in triggering and sustaining allergic reactions, EGCG could very well be the compound which prevents you from having watery eyes, sneezing and coughing.
11. Helps to fend off infections. Again, as one of the main benefits of green tea, EGCG has been highlighted by a study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology as being able to prevent infections, including the HIV virus. EGCG binds with CD4 immune system T-cell receptors and stops HIV from doing the same to reduce the risk of infection. While it is still way too early to peg green tea as a cure for HIV, an Egyptian study has shown that combining antibiotics with green tea significantly boosts the effectiveness of the antibiotic. In fact, when tested against 28 disease-causing microorganisms, green tea enhanced the bacteria killing power in every single case.
12. Reduces and prevents acne. Green tea benefits acne in a number of different ways. It’s antibacterial properties attack and kill the acne bacteria while the anti-inflammatory benefits of green tea reduce the swelling and redness. Antioxidants fight against free radicals which damage the skin and make it more susceptible to acne also help to balance hormone levels to help prevent future breakouts from happening.
13. Slows the aging process to prevent wrinkles. One of the latest benefits of green tea is the effect it has on your skin and the aging process. It is again down to the antioxidants that prevent cell oxidation and damage that can make you look older than you really are. Studies are mixed on this particular green tea benefit as new research has come to light which suggests the full benefits can only be had by applying green tea topically to your skin. However, many people have found that potent green tea extracts do have a positive effect on their skin, leaving it softer, more supply and younger looking.

So yeah, I see how it’s worth it to imbibe in it once in a while. For me, it’s easier to do so if it’s in a icy, sweet, minty & refreshing form like this granita.

…

Despite Mark Bittman being annoying, this recipe went over big on a super hot June day when I was at a loss as to what kind of dessert to make. Thanks Mark. Or actually, thanks to the real author of the recipe, Freya Bellin.

MINTY GREEN TEA & HONEY GRANITA

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 green tea bags, or 2 tablespoons loose green tea
• ¼ cup fresh mint
• ¼ cup honey, or more as needed
• Juice of 1 lemon

Directions:

1. Bring 3 cups water almost to a boil. Add the tea and mint, cover, and turn off the heat. Let steep for 10 minutes, then strain to remove the solids. Stir in the honey and lemon juice. Taste and add more honey if necessary to make a nicely sweet blend.
2. Pour the mixture into a shallow glass or ceramic pan and freeze for at least 2 hours, stirring to break up the crystals every 30 minutes or so. It should be slushy and crunchy with ice crystals.
3. If the granita becomes too hard, pulse it (do not puree) in a food processor before serving, or set it in the fridge for a bit and stir once in a while to bring back the desired texture.

Keep in mind, as it freezes it will lose some sweetness, so add the honey accordingly. Also, you could do this with almost any kind of tea, herbal or otherwise. Granita lends itself so well to almost any kind of flavor or liquid. I used fresh lemon juice to make lemon granita, and I used P♥M Wonderful pomegranate juice & orange juice to make pomegranate granita last year, just take off from that stepping stone. Next time I think I’ll try a black tea with some lemon & sugar. Or maybe the traditional almond… mmm.

….

Garnished with fresh mint (as I garnish all the granita’s I make), it’s a deliciously refreshing summer treat, that you don’t need to sweat your balls off in a hot kitchen to make. Those cute little glasses are from Ikea & they’re drinking glasses, but a perfect size for serving granita, mini-parfaits or ice cream.

I was hankering for a new recipe to make, and for some reason I wanted something with coffee. So I cracked open this book for the first time in over a year, and found “Mocha cupcakes with whipped cream” which sounded divine. However, instead of whipped cream, I decided to make that perfect frosting recipe I made a few times before once again, this time in plain vanilla.  It’s easy enough to make the whipped cream topping, though if you prefer it. Just take 1 cup whipping cream, and using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk it until it thickens and holds its shape. Ta-da! Upon seeing the name of the cakes in the book, I was reminded of the color I used to darken my hair a few months back, which was “Mocalotive.” Hence my confused-sounding post title. I decided to call them ‘mochaccino’ cupcakes because it reminded me of the drink.

A caffè mocha or café mocha^{[note 1]} is a variant of a caffè latte. Like a latte, it is typically one third espresso and two thirds steamed milk, but a portion of chocolate is added, typically in the form of sweet cocoa powder, although many varieties use chocolate syrup. Mochas can contain dark or milk chocolate.

Like cappuccino, café mochas contain the well-known milk froth on top, although they are sometimes served with whipped cream instead. They are usually topped with a dusting of either cinnamon or cocoa powder. Marshmallows may also be added on top for flavor and decoration.

A variant is white café mocha, made with white chocolate instead of milk or dark. There are also variants of the drink that mix the two syrups; this mixture is referred to by several names, including black and white mocha, tan mocha, tuxedo mocha and zebra.

Café mocha takes its name from the Red Sea coastal town of Mocha, Yemen, which as far back as the fifteenth century was a dominant exporter of coffee, especially to areas around the Arabian Peninsula. These coffees had a notable chocolaty taste, and hence the term “mocha” was extended to mean intentional addition of chocolate to coffee.

This recipe was decidedly not muffin-ish at all. Moist, smooth and delicious. And don’t get me started on the frosting… holy crap… I’m not a religious person, but this frosting could make you believe in God. I do recommend going back to this post and reading the full commentary about the frosting if you’re planning on making it. It can be tempermental. Of course, it’s not as good as say, a Swiss or Italian meringue, but it is very good and very light. It has an almost whipped-creamy quality to it. Plus it’s a great option if you run out of confectioner’s sugar and/or aren’t quite as adept with the meringues, yet you want to impress with a “cooked” frosting.

…

I’ve made mocha cupcakes before, but they were different. Made differently, and with a different taste. Richer. These were lighter, and the honey added a nice touch. I bet if you use Golden Blossom honey, you’ll get a lovely orange-y touch to it.

MOCHACCINO CUPCAKES

Get this here shit:

• 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
• 6 tablespoons butter
• generous 3/8 cup superfine sugar*
• 1 tablespoon honey
• scant 1 cup water
• scant 1 5/8 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

And do this, bitches:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° degrees F.
2. Put the espresso powder, honey, water, butter and sugar in a pan and heat gently, stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for 5 minutes. Pour into a heatproof bowl and let cool thoroughly.
3. When the mixture has cooled, sift in the flour and cocoa. Dissolve the baking soda in the milk and add to the coffee mixture with the egg. Beat until smooth.
4. Spoon the batter evenly into prepared muffin tins. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until well risen and firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

PERFECT CUPCAKE FROSTING (courtesy of Our Best Bites)

First, get this:

• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk (whole milk is best)
• 1 cup unsalted butter (NOT margarine!)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

And then yer gon’ do this:

1. Whisk together the flour and the milk. Heat in a small sauce pan on medium heat.
2. Whisk continuously until it starts to thicken. Let it cook, while stirring, until you can start to see the bottom of the pan. It should still be liquid-ish though. It’s okay if you have lumps, because we’re gonna strain those out right now. Place the mixture in a mesh strainer and stir with a rubber spatula to push it through.
3. You should end up with a nice, smooth mixture. It’s almost like pudding before it’s set.
4. Put this mixture in the fridge and let it cool completely, it’s fine if it stays in there long enough to get chilly, you just don’t want it warm at all. When it is chilled, you can move on to the following step.
5. It an electric stand mixer, beat the butter and the sugar for a minute or two until well combined and fluffy. You’ll want to use the whisk attachment on a stand mixer, not the flat paddle. Then while beating, add in the thickened milk mixture and the vanilla. Beat to combine and then scrape down the sides. Don’t be scared. It’s going to look like a goopy mess and kind of lumpy and separated.
6. But you just wait. It’s gonna blow your mind in a few minutes. Beat on med-high for 7-8 minutes. Yes, that long. I know it seems like forever, but that’s when the magic happens!
7. After 7-8 minutes it will have transformed from that sloppy mess into something gorgeous, fluffy, and incredibly light and silky.

I filled these muffin cups about ¾ full, and they rose really nicely. I could’ve filled them more, actually. But it’s all good in the ‘hood. They looked so pretty before they were frosted- the tops were really smooth. And after they were frosted? Even prettier!

…

Aren’t they gorgeous? All that fluffy, creamy white frosting piled up like that.. yum. But that wasn’t enough for me. I wanted to make them a bit prettier. So… I got out my edible pearls and some ground cinnamon. Perfect.

…

If you’re not a fan of frosting, this is a frosting you have to try. Seriously. It’s so deliciously light, not too sweet at all. Just perfect. I insist you try it. And if you are a fan of frosting, you of course have to try it. It’s not cloying, sickly sweet or too thick like regular confectioner’s sugar buttercream can be. Like I said, it’s almost like a whipped cream in texture and flavor. I do recommend however that you use pure vanilla extract, not imitation. I still can’t believe a frosting made with flour can be this light and delicious. And this is such a fall-and-winter-like cupcake. Perfect for this time of year. I don’t know about you, but when doing my Christmas shopping or running errands, or even just when it starts to get chilly out, I like to grab a latte or a mocha latte, so this kind of cupcake really hits the spot for fall, or winter.

If you have coffee extract, you could make this frosting with a coffee flavor. Or you could just do the whipped cream topping, and make it more like a caffe mocha. Another option for decoration is to sprinkle it with chocolate shavings, cocoa powder or chocolate ganache as well- anything that would replicate a mochaccino. They would be super adorable in those silicone tea cups too! Times like this (and when I made my tea cupcakes) I wish I had those.

And look at the cutest freakin’ potholder EVER that Yoyo sent me:

Handmade by TOPSTITCH just for me! (sorry for the shitty photo quality)

…

Indy turns two years old today. Time flies when you’ve got a four-legged child. It seems just like yesterday he was 35 lbs, chewing on people’s shoelaces & peeing in the dining room. Now he’s a 100 lbs of lean, not-so-mean pupcake-eating machinery, who enjoys sleeping on “his couch”, running around with his girlfriend Miley, Bully Sticks, Greenies and of course… hanging out on the deck (or romping in the snow).

Indy & Miley!

…

Since we’re not really sure when he was born exactly, we decided September 2nd would be his birthday. I’ve made Indy many, many homemade treats before. He adores them. Inhales them, in fact. I like doing it, besides knowing exactly what goes in them, it beats paying $4.50 a piece for a mass-produced, hard as a rock “pupcake” from a pet shop. Same reason why I make my own baked goods & food, and why I grew my own vegetables & herbs. Just makes more sense to me, you know? I like knowing exactly what’s going into my food, and my body. And my family’s body… and my pets’ too! Even if it is cream cheese, honey, and peanut butter-based *wink*

..

Luigi (left) & Mario!

…

Indy was kind enough to share these with his friends Mario & Luigi (above) who also had birthdays recently. Okay, actually, Indy’s mom & dad shared them, Indy would’ve eaten them all if given the chance. What can I say, he’s an only child. Oh! And Mario & Luigi’s mom & dad got married a week ago- congrats to them!

PUPCAKES WITH PEANUT BUTTER, CARROTS & OATS

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• ½ cup organic peanut butter
• ½ cup greek yogurt
• ¼ cup honey
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ½ cup shredded carrots
• ¾ cup LOW FAT milk
• 16 ounces low fat cream cheese (or Neufchâtel)
• another ¼ cup honey

Directions:

1. Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the egg, honey, peanut butter, yogurt and oil. Mix the milk in with the dry ingredients, blending well. At this point mix your carrots into the honey mixture, then mix the honey mixture into the flour/milk batter.
2. Put in muffin tins and bake for 15 – 20 minutes. These pupcakes freeze well. Frost if you like using a mix of the cream cheese and ¼ cup honey. Beat those two ingredients until well combined, then cover the tops of the pupcakes with it.

…

…

I used ground cinnamon to make little paw prints on the frosting using my thumb and pinky. Cinnamon is excellent for dogs (& humans!). It improves memory, prevents infections (anti-fungal/anti-bacterial), it’s an anti-inflammatory and it also regulates blood sugar, so if you were concerned when reading that I used it- don’t be! You could also just frost them with peanut butter. But you don’t even have to frost these, if you don’t want to. You could just leave ‘em plain and make ‘em doggie muffins. You could even substitute shredded zucchini for the carrots, or use mashed potatoes, pumpkin, applesauce or diced apples in them instead. Or maybe throw in some blueberries!

I’d store them in the fridge because of the cream cheese frosting & the yogurt, but they probably won’t last very long. They never do around here. Indy eats ‘em in two bites, if he isn’t licking off all the frosting first, that is. As always; if your dog is under 6 mos. old, elderly, sick, on medication or pregnant… please ask a vet before feeding it anything new/homemade/you’re unsure about. And do your research- if you can’t call a vet, Google is your best friend sometimes at 12 a.m. when you’re baking something & not sure of what to do.

*Insert long sigh here* They grow up so fast. Happy birthday, Indy, and many more. You’re a good boy, and we love you.

What is margherita pizza?

Pizza Margherita is a pizza prepared according to a recipe of the Italian chef Raffaelle Esposito. The pizza was first made in 1899 when Queen Marghereta visited Naples to escape a cholera epidemic in the north of Italy. The ingredients used to make a Margherita pizza, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and basil, imitate the colors of the Italian flag. Queen Marghereta liked the pizza so much that she wrote a thank you letter to Esposito, who decided to name the pizza after the Queen.

I’ve made pizza before at home, a lot. It’s one of my favorite things to make. I’ve shared a few recipes on here and it’s starting to become a phenomenon like my macaroni & cheese obsession. But my whole point of this site is making life easy for busy cooks and bakers, yet making good, delicious food as well. And what’s better than pizza? Everyone likes pizza. It’s simple, doesn’t require a lot of planning, and even if you wanna make a more complex dough you still only have to do it the night before. But you don’t have to make a complex dough. There are tons of easy quick pizza dough recipes out there. Some of which you don’t even need to use a mixer for (this makes Lola sad, however). So in this post, I’ll show you a quick margherita pizza, and one with mushrooms as well, and I’ll also give you a recipe for another favorite pizza around here: carbonara. There are no pictures of that, as I didn’t make it this time, but I think you’ll get the idea.

Regular margherita pie in all it’s glory

…

QUICK & EASY PIZZA DOUGH

Ingredients:

• 1 packet (¼ oz.) active dry rapid-rise yeast
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1 ¼ cups lukewarm water (105 to 115° F)
• 1 ½ tsp. honey
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• cornmeal, for sprinkling

Preparation:

1. Mix ½ of flour with yeast, salt, water with honey dissolved in it, and olive oil.
2. Beat with electric mixer for 3 minutes. Mix in remaining flour (dough should only be slightly sticky). Knead 5 minutes on a floured surface until smooth.
3. Place dough in lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 10 minutes in a warm place.
4. Punch dough down and divide in half. Punch down dough thoroughly and spread/stretch dough portion by hand and roller on a greased pizza pan. Move dough crust to pizza peel spread with coarse cornmeal or to pizza screen. Add sauce, cheese, and toppings and bake in preheated 500° F oven directly on the pizza stone for 8-10 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool 2-3 minutes on a wire rack before cutting and serving.

This particular dough recipe requires both a mixer and a pizza stone. If you have neither, then try this recipe. If you’re looking for other pizza dough options, check the ‘pizza’ category. Usually, most recipes can be divided to make more than one, stretched thin to make thin crust, or used to make a thick crust, depending on your preference. Remember that some recipes rise more when cooking too, so go a bit thinner than you normally would if you like a super thin crust. This dough has a bit of a sweeter taste background because of the honey. If that doesn’t appeal to you, one of my other three dough recipes should. I personally prefer these two recipes to this one, but it’s good to try new things. I will say this: if the concept of honey in your pizza dough does not appeal to you, choose another recipe. If you’re open to trying it, then go right ahead. If it’s your first time making pizza at home, definitely use this recipe instead.

I topped it with my homemade sauce, fresh mozzarella (you know, those little balls? Not the shredded stuff in the bag or the block of Polly-O, although if you can’t get fresh then you can most certainly use that) and a basil leaf cut in a chiffonade (I’ll explain how to do that below) and on the other pie I put sliced white button mushrooms. As far as the fresh mozzarella, if you don’t have an Italian deli near you or can’t afford the higher priced fresh ones, BelGioioso now makes fresh mozzarella, it’s in the regular mozzarella section of supermarkets. It’s in a ball shape, and there’s also a larger one that comes in a sort of rounded tube.

Margherita with mushroom… up close & personal

…

If you’re feeling a little more adventurous, here’s a recipe for making an easy carbonara pizza, thanks to Rachael Ray. Carbonara is traditionally made with guanciale (pig’s cheeks), eggs, and parmesan. This recipe makes it a bit more appetizing by using pancetta, which is Italian bacon without the smoky flavor regular bacon has, ricotta cheese as well as pecorino romano, and it involves provolone cheese as well. Just follow the dough instructions above, or whatever dough creation/preparation you like, and use this as the topping.

CARBONARA PIZZA

Ingredients:

• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• ¼ pound pancetta, chopped
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• ¼ cup grated pecorino romano cheese
• 2 large egg yolks, beaten
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• Pepper
• 1 ½ to 2 cups shredded provolone cheese
• 1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (a generous handful)

Winnie-the-Pooh, commonly shortened to Pooh Bear or simply Pooh, and once referred to as Edward Bear, is a fictional bear created by A. A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner (1928). Milne also included a poem about the bear in the children’s verse book When We Were Very Young (1924) and many more in Now We Are Six (1927). All four volumes were illustrated by E. H. Shepard.

This past year for my birthday, I got a very cute card from someone special who knows me well & knows how much I like to bake… and it was a Winnie the Pooh card. With the old drawing of Pooh, and inside… it had a recipe! Yes, a recipe for honey cake. It was one of the cutest cards I’ve ever gotten, and I kept thinking of that honey cake randomly ever since. Of course, I misplaced the card (typical), but I remembered a few basic things that were in the recipe in the card, and I combined that with some other honey cake/honey cupcake recipes I found on the internet to make these. I frosted them with an orange-honey buttercream frosting made by just adding orange extract and a tablespoon of honey to a regular buttercream (if youcan’t figure that out and are in desperate need of the exact recipe, let me know and I’ll send it your way). Thank you to Couture Cupcakes for the inspiration too.

In case you’re unaware, Pooh loves his “hunny.” You’ll usually see him carrying a pot of it around, one paw drenched in honey.

Seeing as how there’s more snow on the way, and I’m longing for spring, I really needed these spring-y cupcakes tonight. Sadly, my camera died, so there’s only one picture. But they say a picture speaks a thousand words, right? I also overestimated how much confectioner’s sugar I had, so I couldn’t make the little orange blossoms on top that I so wanted to do. Oh well. You’ll have to imagine how cute it would have been! I wasn’t about to go out and get some in this weather.

HONEY CUPCAKES (OR POOH’S HUNNY CAKES)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• zest and juice of one orange
• ¼ tsp orange extract
• ¼ cup sour cream
• ¼ cup milk
• ¼ cup sugar
• ½ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup honey
• 2 eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt; set aside. In a small bowl, combine orange zest and juice, extract, sour cream and milk; set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, cream butter until fluffy. Add honey and sugar; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time.
4. Add half of the reserved dry ingredients to the butter mixture; mix on low until just combined. With mixer running on low, slowly add the orange mixture.
5. Add remaining dry ingredients until just combined.
6. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool before frosting.

I got exactly 12 of these. I have to say, they were mighty delicious. Light and airy with a different kind of sweetness, not too overpowering. I’m not a big honey person, I don’t care for by itself, in cake or cookies it’s usually okay. But I really liked how these were sweet without being artificially sweet, and you can really taste the honey. And the orange adds an extra sweet/tartness. This would make a sweet cake too, or even just a loaf with no frosting. Speaking of sweet things… Brianne, a.k.a. Iron Chef Mommy’s brand new dot com is officially open! Featuring some wonderfully amazing (if I do say so myself) logo design by none other than me. I’ve been doing loads of blog logo work lately, two out of three are up and running now. There’s one more to go *cough*Jeanine*cough*!

Those liners are from sweet estelle’s baking supply on Etsy.

..

Saturday (January 30th) was Indy’s first anniversary with us. Exactly a year ago on that day, we went and adopted him from North Shore Animal League.  He was a little 5 month old, squiggly, squirmy ball of cuteness. He is now 3 times the size he was back then (he was 35 pounds, you do the math!), but he’s still a squiggly, squirmy ball of cuteness. Just a bigger and stronger one. We went on to find out he was not a German Shepherd mix as they told us at North Shore, but a  mix of Labrador Retriever, Staffordshire Bull Terrier and English Coonhound. Which explains a lot, really- the powerful chewing, the tendency to carry things in his mouth, the “tracking” he does on walks… yeah, he’s definitely a mix of those three. He’s totally a genius. He’s got his own blog now, did you know that?

The past year has been a total learning experience for both me & Jay- I never had a puppy, when I was a little girl and got my dog Casey he was a year old and fully housetrained and came with a whole set of tricks already. And Jay never had his own dog at all. So we went through housetraining, teaching him tricks (sit, lay down, paw, high five, play dead, and so on), and the other training that comes with having a puppy: not to chew shoes/bags/etc, no begging at the dinner table (which to be honest, Indy never did to begin with), getting them to alert you when they need to be taken out, and all the other things, both banal & exciting.

We learned a lot of things too. That not every dog needs a crate, that no crate can contain certain dogs (at the mere size of 35 pounds Indy demolished not one, but two crates made for dogs more than twice his size), some toys that claim to be indestructible are certainly not, some food isn’t as good as others, and the list goes on. Indy has a very sensitive stomach & digestive system, so most of the treats that other dogs get to have lots of don’t agree with him, like Jumbones, or Pup-peroni, or Snausages. He can really only eat Milkbones, or biscuits, or all natural treats. We only let him eat treats made in the U.S.A. and most of it is 100% natural so there are no additives or by-products. His dry food has to be high quality (Solid Gold, Blue Buffalo, EVO, Innova, etc) and he can only tolerate Halo wet food (we just use it as a “gravy”- one tablespoon mixed with his dry food). The non-dog owners or people who dislike or don’t have pets may think this is slightly insane; but we don’t. For many reasons, not the least of which because he may as well be considered my son, but the one reason you’ll relate to the best is this- what would you prefer, a 95 pound dog you feed garbage to with diarrhea who whines, barks and cries incessantly and tries to chew your fingers off out of frustration because he’s uncomfortable and has to constantly go out (the result of which is quite messy)… or a happy, comfortable, healthy 95 pound dog who contently enjoys his organic food & homemade treats? Thought so. Now tell me I’m crazy.

So anyway I like making him treats, because I know what goes into them, and I know he’ll be able to eat them, enjoy them, and not suffer later.  I can tailor them to his likes (many things) or dislikes (very few things) or things I know he can tolerate. The first thing I ever made for him were these pupcakes. He was crazy about them, and he especially loved the frosting, so I added a similar frosting on these. If you wanna do the same go here to get the frosting recipe. I also topped these with peanut butter chips, because he loves peanut butter.

While these were in the oven, I gave Arwyn catnip & a good brushing, because she can’t stand it when the dog gets more attention when clearly cats are superior animals.

BANANA, HONEY & CINNAMON PUPCAKES

First you get:

• 2 ¾ cups of water
• 1 large egg
• 3 tbsp honey
• 2 med bananas (mashed)
• 3 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• ¼ cup dry milk powder (*I used ¼ cup fat free milk)
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp baking powder

Then you:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Spray muffin pans with Pam to keep the cakes from sticking.
3. Mix water, egg, honey, and mashed banana together. (I add the milk here too).
4. Combine flour, dry milk powder, cinnamon and baking powder to the wet mixture.
5. Mixture should have a cake batter consistency.
6. Bake at 350 for approximately 30 minutes.
7. Pupcakes are done when they turn a golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Indy adored them, I’m sure your pup will too. I have quite a few dog treat recipes, to see more of them go to the dog biscuit category. Actually, humans might enjoy these cakes as well. They certainly smell fantastic, and this time there’s no random ingredient like cheese to make them a bit off-putting. A tip from me to you: feed them to your dog on tile floor or wood, otherwise you’ll be cleaning cream cheese & honey frosting off your carpet. Indy has a thing where he will not eat anything off the tile, and he won’t eat anything but his food out of his bowl… so I speak from experience.

Look at that face… haha..

..

And remember, if your dog is a senior, or has any kind of health issues or food intolerance, please ask a veterinarian first before making them any homemade treats. And do your research before feeding anything to your dog. Grapes, garlic and onion are all included in a list of foods that can make your dog seriously ill.

And thanks to Brianne for coming up with “pupiversary.” Why didn’t I think of that!?

Rose water is frequently used in Iranian and Indian cuisine, to flavor milk as well as sweets (cookies, ice cream and even tea). In Lebanon, it’s added to lemonade. In Western Europe it’s used to flavor marzipan and madeleines, little scalloped French sponge cake/cookies. Another interesting fact about rose water thanks to Wikipedia:

Rose water was also used to make Waverly Jumbles, a type of cookie much favoured by the American President James Monroe. American and European bakers enjoyed the floral flavouring of rose water in their baking until the 19th century when vanilla flavouring became popular.

I decided I liked the whole Victorian 18th century appeal of it, so I wanted to go with that. For some reason, too, it reminds me  of Victorian Christmas cookies. The Victorian’s loved their “exotic” tastes and oddities (which is why many of them had genuine Egyptian sarcophagi in their parlors, complete with mummies). They loved anything Asian or Indian in flavor, it made them feel more worldly. I’ve been in a Victorian state of mind since reading a Victoria magazine (for the first time in forever) lately, and I’m a huge history geek so to me this all fit together perfectly. Look at the recipe for Queen cake on this page, and check out these Victorian cookies. Rose water!

Let me just say this: this is NOT a cookie for the faint of heart or the finicky. If you don’t like different, unique or exotic tastes, don’t bother trying it. Kids probably won’t like them, and if you aren’t familiar with the taste/smell of rose water in food, you might be convinced it tastes like your grandmother’s perfumed powder room. That said- they’re a completely different taste, and something that, in a crowd of foodies or culinary connoisseurs, will most likely be at least appreciated, if not loved.

I thought they were very good, in a very unique way. Stress on the word unique. They are not like a chocolate chip cookie in the way that you can sit and eat four or five with a glass of milk. They’re more like something to be savored. In other words, perfect for Christmastime. They’d be really good with Champagne, I bet, so maybe they’d make a good New Year’s Eve party cookie.

EXOTIC SPICE COOKIES WITH CARDAMOM, GINGER & ROSE WATER

Ingredients:

• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 ¼ teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup chopped crystallized ginger
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• ½ cup vegetable shortening, room temperature
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 teaspoon rosewater
• ¾ cup turbinado (raw) sugar, for rolling

Directions:

1. Whisk the flour, ground ginger, baking soda, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, pepper and salt in a medium bowl until blended. Mix in the crystallized ginger. Set aside momentarily.
2. In a large bowl beat the brown sugar, butter and shortening with an electric mixer until fluffy (do not overbeat-it will add too much air). Add the egg, honey and rosewater and beat until blended. Stir in the flour mixture with a wooden spoon, mixing until just until blended. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray 2 cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray. Spoon the turbinado sugar in thick layer onto small plate. Using wet hands, form dough into 1 ¼-inch balls; roll in sugar to coat completely. Place balls on prepared sheets, spacing 2 to 3 inches apart.
4. Bake cookies until cracked on top but still soft to touch, about 11 to 13 minutes. Cool on sheets 1 minute. Carefully transfer cookies to wire racks; cool completely.

I did not use turbinado sugar, I used red sugar because it was Christmas-y. Rebellious.

Speaking of rebellious.. I am a rebellious baker at times. I laugh in the face of ingredient lists, make my own self-rising flour while listening to Flogging Molly, use mayonnaise instead of eggs (only sometimes) and substitute regular flour for cake flour while crossing my fingers and listening to Bing Crosby (hey- you’ve gotta have variety!). So I was planning on omitting the crystallized ginger altogether, but only because I didn’t have any on hand. But I ended up running out and getting some, and I’d say that it’s pretty worthwhile to do so. The texture adds something to the cookies. I’m not a big fan of crystallized ginger, myself, so I gave my mother the remaining ginger in the container. If you aren’t a fan either, then maybe you could look into buying just what you’ll need for these, or you could just omit it altogether. The ground ginger would be enough I’m sure.

So basically… if you’re not sure that you’ll like these, halve the recipe and make just half. You’ll still have plenty of cookies if you like them, and if not, it’s not that bad of a waste to get rid of them (or pawn them off on someone else).

A snickerdoodle is a variety of sugar cookie made with cream of tartar, and rolled in cinnamon sugar. It has a characteristically cracked surface, and can be crisp or soft depending on preference. In modern recipes, the leavening agent is usually baking powder.

So here we have the doggie version- snickerpoodles. I made these in celebration of our puppy Indy’s DNA test results: thanks to The Canine Heritage Breed Test, we found out that he’s a mix of Labrador Retriever, Staffordshire Bull Terrier and English Coonhound. And what better way to celebrate finding out who you are than with cookies?! Really, what better way to celebrate just being a dog than with cookies?

I made these kinda huge, ’cause, well… Indy’s kind of a big dude. I mean look at him- he’s 8 months old and almost 60 pounds and eats like a monster. They’re like the size of my palm. But depending on the size/appetite of your dog you can make them smaller… or even bigger if you’ve got a Great Dane or St. Bernard or a horse. And  by the way, that picture is from the cover of his new rap album, Yo! Indy Raps, in stores now. Gangsta!

Basically, why pay $3.50 per dog cupcake or cookie at Pet Supplies Plus when you can make your own and actually know what you’re putting into it?

SNICKERPOODLES

Ingredients:

• ½ cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup shortening
• 1 cup honey
• 2 eggs
• 3 ¾ cups white flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:

1. Mix vegetable oil, shortening , honey with eggs. Beat well.
2. Add flour, soda and cream of tartar. Knead dough until mixed well. Shape dough by rounded teaspoons into balls.
3. Mix the cornmeal and cinnamon together in a bowl and roll balls in mixture.
4. Place 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet . Press the balls down with a fork.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 400F. Cool on a rack. Store in airtight container, if they last that long!

And let me repeat, for anyone out there who’d like to comment and tell me how terrible I am for feeding cookies to a dog (like the troll from the last dog treat post) … THESE ARE DOG-SAFE. NO SUGAR. ALL-NATURAL. NO ARTIFICIAL INGREDIENTS. NOTHING IN HERE IS BAD FOR DOGS. A healthy dog should have no problem eating these or digesting them. Now for my little Public Service Announcement: Its fun to make your own dog treats and food, but please remember you should never give your dog sugar, and don’t feed a senior dog/dog with special dietary needs treats like this without consulting your vet first.

The end!

Recently Jay (and I *cough*, hehe) adopted a dog, which was exciting for us both since he’s wanted one for a long time (and I have too- I love animals) and also because now I get to make doggie cupcakes. I love my kitty cat to death, and she’s my babygirl, but cats don’t eat cupcakes. Not really. They have a slightly more difficult and sensitive palate than dogs. My cat is a bit unusual, since she does happen to enjoy a nibble or two of vanilla cake/cupcake. But on the whole, it isn’t good for them and they wouldn’t eat a cupcake specifically made for them (i.e. with fish or chicken, or cheese and apples in it, for instance). Dogs, on the other hand, will eat cupcakes made with chicken or cheese, but then again, they’ll eat anything and everything. Including socks, and wee wee pads, as we are finding out thanks to this beautiful boy, Indy. But that doesn’t meant they should eat it. So here we have doggie safe cupcakes, or pupcakes! Because if anyone deserves a tasty treat like a cupcake, its a puppy dog who’s learning commands so quickly and working so hard to make us proud.

And really, am I to be expected to not make cupcakes for my dog?

If you look, there are also pupcake recipes out there that include peanut butter; but because there’s a salmonella peanut butter scare going on right now, I opted for a different recipe. Always be aware of things like that when making homemade treats for your pet. They have no advocate but you, so make sure you keep up with that stuff.

DELICIOUS PUPCAKES

Ingredients

• 1 large apple
• 1½ cups whole wheat flour
• ¼ cup oatmeal
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• ½ teaspoon of baking soda
• ½ cup plain yogurt
• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup grated (or shredded) cheese

FOR FROSTING:*

• 1 8oz package lowfat cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons of honey

Directions:

1. Preheat oven at 375 degrees Grease muffin tins.
2. Core, slice and mince the apple. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix flour, oatmeal, baking powder and baking soda together.
4. In a medium bowl, blend the yogurt, water, oil, honey and eggs together. Then stir in the apple and cheese. Add to the flour mixture and stir until mixed. Spoon into the muffin tins, filling each cup about three quarters full.
5. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
6. Let rest in the muffin tins for a few minutes, then remove and set aside.
7. For the frosting, combine the cream cheese (at room temperature), honey and yogurt until smooth. Spread on the pupcakes.

Makes about 16 pupcakes. If you prefer a single-layer cake, spoon the batter into a sheet pan and bake for an extra 10 minutes. Let cool before serving. Keep in airtight container. Just remember to NOT use paper liners! Dogs, being that they have no thumbs and less dexterity with their paws than we have with our hands (and mainly because they just don’t know any better), cannot remove them from the paper before eating, and so therefore will indeed eat the wrapper. And that may pose a choking risk. So be responsible! Also, because there are no wrappers and everything in it is natural and theres no added sugar, if you have leftover ones that your doggie doesn’t want, you can toss them in your yard and the squirrels and wildlife will eat them and not get sick.

You can use any kind of cheese you want. I used a Kraft Mexican blend (haha) because thats what I had, but anything will do. Parmesan, cheddar, mozzarella, etc. I don’t see why you couldn’t make these vegan either, if you don’t have eggs or real cheese on hand. Although it is important to remember that animals are NOT vegan, and don’t undersand why you are, and don’t really care. Their bodies are meant to ingest meat and animal products, and thats what they need. These cupcakes don’t contain anything made from animals except eggs, but just keep in mind a dog’s system is different than ours, and most likely he doesn’t want to be vegan And cats- forget it. Cats are NOT MEANT to be vegan or vegetarian. A dog can indeed survive and live on a vegan diet, providing you add enough protein to it- although it really is against their nature to exist solely on veggies, they can because they’re omnivores. But a cat is a carnivore, so it cannot and will not and its not really fair to try and force them.

*(The frosting is really optional, I think its cute but if you don’t wanna make it, you don’t have to. I made mine a bit of a thinner consistency by using less cream cheese, because I felt it wasn’t really necessary to have a big huge heaping pile of “frosting”; but its totally up to you.)

I tell you, these smelled really good while baking. The only thing that put me off from tasting one was the cheese, haha.

Serve to a hungry puppy dog and prepare to get slobbers and kisses in return!

For those who are interested- his name is Indy, he’s a 5 month old, about 35/40 pound Labrador Retriever, Staffordshire Bull Terrier and English Coonhound mix with little webbed paws, and he’s a sweetheart. Another picture of his silly little blockhead can be found here. We adopted him from North Shore Animal League, and they’re awesome, so if you’re feeling generous make a donation. It’ll save a life.

…

Yes, that’s the original ditto, from 1985! It’s seen a lot of love (& a lot of messes too) since then.

PUMPKIN MUFFINS

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup flour
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. nutmeg
• 2 tbsps milk
• Cut out jack-o-lantern pumpkin pieces
• 1/8 cup butter
• 1 egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° degrees. Wash the cut out pumpkin face pieces thoroughly. Bake them until soft, approx. 30 minutes. Let them cool, then peel them and mash them. Change oven temp. to 400°.
2. Mix together flour, honey, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a bowl. Add egg, butter and ¼ cup of the mashed pumpkin.
3. Spoon into muffin tins and bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool before eating.

…

I hope you all have…

A frightful, delightful,

Wary, scary,

Spooky, kooky,

Creaky, freaky,

Terrifyingly sweet and most of all…

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

My jack-o-lantern this year, featuring The Bride of Frankenstein.

…

]]> http://cupcakerehab.com/2008/10/i-wish-you-all/feed/ 5