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Sweet & Tangy Strawberry-Vanilla-Banana Jam

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Sweet & Tangy Strawberry-Vanilla-Banana Jam



I remember when I first started canning about 15 years ago. I thought I owned the world. To be able to create jams, jellies and preserves in flavors no store would ever have; to feel so danged “Earth Mother-ish”. It was empowering in its own weird way. The first thing I ever made was orange marmalade. It was, yet again with me, a case of not even realizing I had picked something that experienced cooks/canners don’t like to do and that the inexperienced canners balk at. I have a habit of that. Same thing happened the first time I made croissants not long after I started baking with yeast. I found out later that many experienced home bakers don’t like to attempt croissants because they can be touchy. I’ve always been like, “This sounds good… I want to make it” and I give it a try. Usually things go well. I suppose ignorance really is bliss, ehh? This particular jam is a favorite in my family. My son Jordan has to be stopped from just eating it out of the jar as dessert and my husband, who is diabetic, loves it even though it’s so NOT good for him. If you like the classic mix of strawberry banana, you will love this jam. And contrary to what you may think, home canning isn’t difficult at all. If you can mix, stir, ladle into jars and then boil sealed cans, you’ve got this. I will say what I say every time I post a canning recipe, however. Steer clear of recipes/web sites/blogs that tell you it is just fine and dandy to do things like seal your jars by turning them upside down or just putting a lid on and letting the inner heat seal them, etc. These methods are NOT safe. You’ll run into people who will say, “Oh, my gramma/great gramma/gramma 35 generations ago did it this way and everyone was just fine.” They’re wrong, plain and simple. We have no way of knowing how many illnesses, “Oh, she has a stomach virus” or even deaths back in the day were from food poisoning. Seal your cans the correct way and you’ll have tasty food that is safe. Here’s a wonderful site to check out if you’re new to canning- Fresh Preserving . It will guide you along in easy terms and make you see how simple this really is! You know the drill…. git to cooking. Erhmmm, canning. This makes about 8 half pint jars.

Sweet & Tangy Strawberry-Vanilla-Banana Jam

  • 4 3/3 cups prepared fruit (about 2 1/2 containers strawberries and 3 to 4 medium bananas)
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice (bottles is fine)
  • 1 box pectin (the powdered kind, not the liquid)
  • 1/2 teaspoon butter to help prevent excessive foaming
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 6 3/4 cups sugar (yes, this is the correct amount; jams take a fair amount of sugar to set properly and are NOT diet food 😛 )
  1. Prepare your jars as directed in the above link and set your lids in a bowl of bowling water to sterilize them.
  2. Stem your strawberries. Crush them and measure out exactly 3 1/4 cups of the mashed berries (if there is any left over, which is doubtful, just find another use for them). Mash the bananas and add exactly 1 1/2 cups of them in a large pot along with the mashed strawberries. Stir in the lemon juice and the vanilla.
  3. Stir the powdered pectin into the pot with the fruit. Make sure you have your sugar measured and at hand.
  4. Add the butter and bring the fruit/pectin mixture to a full rolling boil (a boil that can’t be stirred away), stirring constantly.
  5. Pour in the sugar all at once. Still stirring constantly, bring the mixture back to a full rolling boil Once it gets there, boil for a full minute. Immediately remove form the heat and skim off any foam that has collected on top. Let the pot sit for five minutes, stirring about once every minute to help make sure the fruit doesn’t settle, but stays suspended throughout the mixture.
  6. Ladle into the prepared jars; wipe the jar rims and threads with a clean hot, wet cloth. Cover with the lids and process in boiling water for ten minutes. Remove form the water and let cool, set on a clean towel. You’ll hear a satisfying “ping!” as each jar seals.
  7. Label and store in a dark, cool place.

Sweet & Tangy Strawberry-Vanilla-Banana Jam 2   Copyright Notice: From Cupcakes To Caviar images and original content are copyright protected. Please do not publish these materials anywhere without prior permission.

Old Fashioned Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

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Old Fashioned Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies 1



Who else is ready for Autumn? No takers yet? Ok, who else is ready for a day or two of DRY weather with Autumn like temps? WooT! I knew THAT would get some raised hands. Has this been the wettest Summer ever or what? Unless one lives in the Pacific NW or Hawaii, of course, in which, carry on; ignore the rest of us whiners.

I let my son Joshie go out and play the other day. We had to call in the National Guard to find him in the 75 foot tall grass. We haven’t been able to mow in almost two months. Mosquitoes and snakes have set up resort hotels and spas in there. The blinking neon lights saying, “Eat At Joes” are keeping me awake nights.

Fine, enough with the bad one liners. I’m in a mood; what can I say?

The other day on my facebook page, I mentioned that I was making a pork roast with a ton of bacon. Well, I did. Then I promptly forgot to take pictures of it, so you’re not getting that recipe right now. I will however, convince my family that having bacon wrapped pork roast twice in a week is a GOOD thing and will post it soon.

So I made you some cookies.

PonUAndUZiUIUMadeUYouUAUCookie_adMy husbands favorite type of cookie is oatmeal raisin. I was in a benevolent mood the other day, so I indulged him. I’m cool that way. Or something. I could give you some song and dance about how awesome my own special recipe for oatmeal cookies is, but I’d be lying. This one is from my Cooks Illustrated cookbook. They have chewy and buttery down pat, so now I do too. I did however, add cinnamon which they said it was better without (I disagree) and upped the amount of nutmeg a touch. I also used dark brown sugar instead of light, because I prefer the more molasses like flavor of dark. But feel free to use light brown. Andddddd… I added vanilla extract, which for some strange reason, they don’t use.

These are delicious. Big, thick, chewy, studded with sweet raisins (and chocolate chips in half the batch) and make for one tasty dessert. Or, if you’re my oldest son, who is visiting right now with two of his kids, it makes for a wonderful breakfast…mid morning snack…later in the morning snack…lunch…after lunch snack…

You know the drill….

Mrs. Cupcake… who needs to hide a cookie before they are all gone.

Note- this makes LARGE cookies. I made a double batch so that I could have a ton since there are 7 males in my house right now, plus so that I could add chocolate chips to half the batch along with the raisins. So feel free to double this one.

Old Fashioned Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temp (use good quality butter since in a cookie like this, butter is a prominent flavor)
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups old fashioned oats (NOT instant!)
  • 1 1/2 cups raisins (feel free to sub chocolate chips {or just add chocolate chips with the raisins} or toasted chopped walnuts or dried cranberries)
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment or silicon liners. You can also spray with cooking spray, but they may stick a bit.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
  3. In another large bowl, at low speed with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and two different sugars until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, and beat until well incorporated. Beat in the vanilla extract.
  4. Pour the flour mixture into the butter mixture and use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to get it well mixed. Stir in the oats and raisins.
  5. Scoop up a good two tablespoons of the dough for each cookie and shape into a ball. Place about two inches apart on the lined cookie sheets and bake for about 22 minutes; just until the edges are nicely browned. but the tops are still fairly light. This is what keeps them chewy. If you prefer crispier cookies, give them a few more minutes of baking time. If you do two sheets at a time, rotate the racks about halfway through cooking.
  6. Let cool for about a minute on the sheets, then transfer over to racks to finish cooling. They are, however, delicious, warm. You can even take cold ones and microwave them for a few seconds to get them warm again. So good with a cup of coffee or tea! Also, don’t tell your kids this, but these make a wonderful on the run breakfast.

Old Fashioned Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies 3

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Triple Berry & Nectarine Crisp With Buttery Streusel & Lime Cream Topping

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Triple Berry & Nectarine Crisp With Buttery Streusel & Lime Cream Topping

Triple Berry & Nectarine Crisp With Buttery Streusel & Lime Cream Topping



I can see some of you (yes, even you, my dear brother) scratching your heads and saying, “Who is this blogger? I don’t remember this blog at all. Ohhhh, wait, this is that crazy woman who hasn’t blogged in weeks, isn’t it? NOW I remember”. I also then envision you running into the night, screaming in terror. Please tell me I’m wrong on that last part? But… yes, I was gone for a couple of weeks. Reasons don’t matter; it’s just time now for you to rejoice, throw confetti and be glad I’m back. Or something like that.

Did I ever mention that my husband does NOT like peaches or nectarines? He doesn’t care for stone fruits in general, actually. Why I stay with this man with these fatal flaws he has is beyond me. he also doesn’t like sushi, mushrooms, the skin on fried chicken or any sort of fat on meat. Pray for me.

But I like nectarines, so he has to deal with it; that or just not eat any of this deliciousness. I had a bag of nectarines that I needed to use in some way other than my normal sliced in a bowl with a little bit of sugar and cream. Plus, I had berries in the fridge that were getting long in the tooth. Not that that takes very long with berries, mind you. I wish there was a fool proof way to keep them fresh for longer than three days or so.

So I decided I wanted a crisp. I think my love for streusel is well known at this point considering I have about 9,452 recipes in here that use streusel. Fine, not quite that many. But I do love streusel. Add in some of my favorite fruits and I’m in heaven. With this one though, I went a bit further. The other night, I was having my usual bowl of berries and cream, but on a whim, I mixed some homemade lime curd into the cream. It was wonderful, so I decided to make it for this crisp. It adds a nice creamy yet tart finish to this. All in all, this was quite good (if I do say so myself). Buttery crispy streusel, sweet juicy fruit, all topped with a creamy topping. What else do you need? Other than ten million dollars. I can’t help you there.

You know the drill…

Triple Berry & Nectarine Crisp With Buttery Streusel & Lime Cream Topping

  • Streusel-
  • 3/4 cup oats, not instant
  • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and sliced thin
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Fruit filling-
  • 2 pounds (about 7 to 9, depending on size) ripe nectarines (could sub peaches), peeled and chopped
  • 6 ounces (one small container) fresh raspberries
  • 6 ounces (one small container) fresh blackberries
  • 1 pint fresh blueberries
  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • Lime Cream Topping-
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 store bought or homemade lime (or lemon) curd
  1. Make your topping and refrigerate it. In a small bowl, combine the cream and curd. Use a whisk and beat until soft peaks form. Cover and chill until ready to use.
  2. Preheat oven to 400; butter 6 8 ounce ramekins or a 13×9 inch baking dish (preferably glass, as metal dishes tend to discolor fruits) In a large bowl, combine all the filling ingredients. Stir well, then set aside.
  3. For the streusel, in a medium bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Stir well to break up any large lumps in the sugar.
  4. Using a pastry blender or your fingers (I usually start with the pastry blender, then go to my fingers to finish it up), cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs
  5. Divide the fruit mixture evenly among the buttered ramekins. Top with the streusel. If, by chance, you don’t use all the streusel, it freezes wonderfully.
  6. Bake at 400 until golden brown and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Serve at desired temp, topped with the lime cream.
Triple Berry & Nectarine Crisp With Buttery Streusel & Lime Cream Topping

Triple Berry & Nectarine Crisp With Buttery Streusel & Lime Cream Topping

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Easy Amish Sugar Cake (Recipe Re-do)

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Easy Amish Sugar Cake

Easy Amish Sugar Cake



I’ve always wondered what makes some recipes winners and others total flops. I’ll post something that tastes wonderful and even has a decent photo and it will get two shares on facebook and not a lot of notice.  Then, another time, I’ll post something that, while good (not like I’m going to post crap), is fairly simple and nothing exciting, just homey food. And suddenly it will get 90 bazillion shares on facebook and a ton of people will come here to the blog to see it. Have I ever mentioned that all of you confuse me sometimes? 😛

This recipe falls under the second category. It is simple, tasty, homey and as easy as can be. But is certainly isn’t exciting or some earth shaking cuisine and I have come to realize that many of you prefer the recipes like this one.  This is by far my most pinned recipe on Pinterest and always get a lot of shares on facebook when I repost it there. All this with sub par photos, lol. I originally made this one for the blog in early 2012. Like I said, it is tasty and simple. You get a slightly crispy top and edges and a tender inside. part of the topping sinks to the bottom and you can a wonderfully buttery, yet crisp and sweet bottom crust, too. It’s a wonderful breakfast cake as well as a great treat for the family and an after school snack. it takes ten minutes tops to get this into the oven and about 3 minutes for your family to have it devoured 😀 It also is one of those simple cakes that most of you will already have all the ingredients for. So what are you waiting for? Go… make your house smell amazing and make the kids and spouse love you even more than they already do. Cause you’re just that good!

You know the drill…. git to cookin’

Mrs. Cupcake…. who is going to have another slice of this cake

Easy Amish Sugar Cake

 

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1/3 cups milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup melted butter (more like 1/4 cup if you’re doing this in one larger pan)
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons cinnamon (you’re sprinkling it on, so use the amount that makes YOU happy)
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease two 9 inch cake pans. You can also, as I did this time, use a 10 inch cast iron pan. You may end up using a bit less melted butter for drizzling at the end though, plus plan on a longer baking time by about 10 minutes.
  2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, white sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and baking powder.
  3. Dump in the egg, milk, vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons melted butter.
  4. Stir just until well combined and smooth. Don’t overbeat.
  5. Pour into the prepared cake pan or pans. Sprinkle with desired amount of brown sugar, then the cinnamon. Drizzle the remaining melted butter over the tops of the cakes.
  6. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until the top is firm and crackly looking and the cake is a nice golden brown color.
  7. This is best served warm but it’s still good cold and reheats nicely.

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Easy Amish Sugar Cake

Easy Amish Sugar Cake

 

 

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Bars (Recipe Redo)

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Chocolate Covered Strawberry Bars

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Bars



I am constantly amazed at how bad my photography skills were a few years ago. I’m no prize now, but at least I don’t cringe (most of the time) when I see my pictures. And I am constantly amazed that I make some things and then do the whole blogger thing of not making the it again because if I do that, I can’t use it in the blog. Totally silly of those of us who blog because in doing that, as we miss out on eating the most delicious things more than once. I haven’t made these bars since the first time I did in 2011. I have no idea why I have never made them again because, dang, these are awesome! It all comes down to, I think, what I said about how when you’re a blogger, you tend to not make the same things twice because if you do, it’s no longer blog fodder :-p

I made these a bit differently than the first time. I added more flavor to the crust, a bit to the filling and I used less chocolate chips on top, because, my God, what was I thinking last time with the amount of chips on there?! It’s a chocolate filling, for pete’s sake. it doesn’t needed a covering of chocolate thick enough to put a herd of elephants into a diabetic coma. So I cut it down. Now only one or two elephants are in danger of that coma.

These are fantastic pot luck or church supper fare; rich enough to be decadent yet not time consuming in the least. But once you try a bite, suddenly, you’ll forget to take the plate with you where ever you need to go. Instead, you’ll be that person hiding in the closet from your kids so that you can eat these in peace. Wait. I’m not the only one who does that, am I?

The crust for these are wonderfully crumbly to the bite, but not when you cut it. Then you have a layer of tangy sweetened berries, covered with a creamy chocolate filling, then crumbs on top. What’s not to love? Berries, chocolate, creamy and crumbs. 😀

You know the drill…

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Bars

  • CRUST-
  • 1 cup softened butter (2 sticks)
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2/3 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 cup slivered toasted almonds
  • FILLING-
  • 1 lb container fresh strawberries, capped and thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup strawberry preserves
  • 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Lightly grease a 13×9 inch pan. Line with foil and grease the foil or spray with cooking spray.
  3. In a large bowl, combine flour, butter and powdered sugar. Sprinkle with the extracts. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour and sugar until you have pea sized crumbs. Fold in the slivered almonds
  4. Pat 2 cups of the crumb mixture into the bottom of the greased pan. Set the rest aside.
  5. Bake the crust for ten minutes or until a very light golden brown around the edges.
  6. Meanwhile, gently fold your sliced strawberries together with the preserves.
  7. In a small bowl, mix one cup of chocolate chips with the sweetened condensed milk and extracts and microwave on high in 30 seconds increments, stirring after each one, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
  8. Carefully spread the strawberry mixture on top of the hot crust. Then pour the chocolate/milk mix on top of the berries and spread. Sprinkle that with the reserved crumbs and the rest of the chocolate chips.
  9. Bake at 350 for about 30 to 35 minutes or until the center is set.
  10. Let cool, preferably in the fridge for a couple of hours. Use the foil to lift the bars out of the pan to a large cutting board. Use a knife dipped in hot water then wiped dry to cut the bars into serving sized pieces.

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Chilled Caprese Tortellini Salad

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Chilled Caprese Tortellini Salad



Every year I plant a bunch of herbs. I have a few perennials set aside in a certain area of our land, but the annuals I just do in containers. One that I always plant is basil. Is there anything like the scent of fresh basil??? it is one of those smells that just makes me think “summer”. Problem is, me being, well, me, I inevitably plant more than we can use. I love basil, but I get busy and forget to actually USE it. I’ll grab a handful for spaghetti sauce, I’ll snip a few leaves to use with a sliced up tomato and some olive oil. Then that will be it. I’ll talk a good game about using the 496 plants for a few hundred batches of pesto, but I never get to it. Then, Autumn comes, the first frost comes and I am left kicking myself because my basil died. I’m sad and then next Spring the cycle starts all over again.

So this year I only bought TWO basil plants. That’s it; two. And what does that mean? That suddenly, I find myself wanting basil all the time to the point where my poor plants can’t keep up the supply. Nature can’t win with me. But I’m afraid to buy another plant or two. Because what will happen is that craving will die and so will my basil plants.

But…!! This salad is a great way to use about 1/2 of a cup (which is a fair amount of leaves) of the lovely green stuff. Every year, one of the things I do is make a Caprese pasta. I usually make a hot dinner of it though, with spaghetti or a similar pasta and the cheese all melted in it. While that is absolutely wonderful, I wanted to try my hand at a chilled salad this time. I am totally pleased with what I came up with. This is about as easy as it gets. I used a good quality bottled Italian dressing in this. You are, of course, free to make your own dressing, but I was going for easy and tasty, not involved. With this salad, the most involved part is chopping the basil and the tomatoes. Hard work, ehh? Make sure you let this chill for a bit; at least a couple of hours. You want those flavors to blend and then blend some more. Then, just garnish it with some fresh basil for decoration and a sprinkling of pepper for flavor, check for needed salt one last time and chow down.

Chilled Caprese Pasta Salad

  • 1 16 to 19 ounce package frozen tortellini, cooked according to package direction, then drained and rinsed in cold water
  • 8 ounces ciliegine mozzarella ( those are the small balls, usually found in tubs packed in water)
  • 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped green onion (I know this isn’t a typical ingredient for caprese, but it adds a nice flavor)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest (same as what I said for the green onion)
  • 1/2 to 2/3 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
  • 2/3 cup good Italian dressing
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan (this is one of those times when the cheaper powdery stuff is acceptable, even preferred, because it coats and clings better than freshly grated)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  1. Pour the tortellini on a layer of paper towels and gently pat dry. Place them in a large bowl.
  2. Add the mozzarella,  the tomatoes, green onion, lemon zest and basil to the bowl with the tortellini. Gently toss together.
  3. Pour in the Italian dressing and toss to coat.
  4.  Sprinkle the Parmesan on and again, toss to coat. Give it a taste, then add some salt and pepper. I’m not giving a specific amount here because tastes vary. You may be not a huge salt person, but others are, so I salt for your taste and then others can add more if they want it. Seems the best way to season something like a pasta salad.
  5. Pour the salad into a serving bowl. Cover and chill for at least two hours. Garnish with some basil and freshly ground pepper and serve.

Copyright Notice: From Cupcakes To Caviar images and original content are copyright protected. Please do not publish these materials anywhere without prior permission. Chilled Caprese Tortellini Salad 2

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Brownies

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Brown Butter Salted Caramel Brownies

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Brownies



I’ve come to the realization that I am always going to be a year or so behind everyone else when it comes to trying new things, be it watching a TV show, shopping certain places or trying new foods. When everyone else was watching Glee, I refused. I started watching it on netflix after season two. I then stopped mid season 4 because it sucked, but that is neither here nor there. Greys Anatomy? End of season six is when I started watching. Stopped watching that also, because they got into subject matter I disliked. I have a hard time finding a modern show I can stick with :-p I’m also that person who didn’t realize what a wonderful place Target was until about a year and a half ago. Now, like most women over 12 and under 95, it’s one of my favorite stores.

When it comes to foods, same thing. I didn’t try a Macaron until about a year ago and now I love them. I still haven’t tried making them myself though. Easier just to buy them frozen at Trader Joes. 😀 I didn’t try salted caramel until MAYBE two years ago, a full couple of years after you could find salted caramel everything (salted caramel shoe leather anyone? Maybe a nice salted caramel beef tongue?) on every food page on the internet. That’s one I regret not trying sooner, but live and learn. Stubbornness has its drawbacks and I doubt I’ll be changing anytime soon. The plus though is that, when everyone else has moved past it, yet it’s still a loved flavor, like salted caramel, you don’t have to compete with 5000000 posts each day to get seen. The rest of the foodie world has moved onto marinated llama feet in a balsamic reduction, so the salted caramel treats stand out more 😀

One thing I only recently tried was the whole sweet/salty idea. Sure, I’d had chocolate covered pretzels, which I don’t care for to be honest, but the idea of purposely sprinkling salt on top of a sweet food bewildered me. Until I tried it. Just trust me on this if you’re still as hesitant as I was. Will I be sprinkling salt on a Twinkie anytime soon? No. But on chocolate? It adds an indefinable something to the flavor.

I’ve made browned butter brownies more than once in here and they are still a favorite, but these are totally over the top. Moist, chewy browned butter brownies and creamy chocolate chunks, covered with gooey salted caramel, then MORE salted caramel and some coarse salt for crunch and contrast. Totally delicious!

You know the drill….

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Brownies

  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1  teaspoon instant coffee (optional; my addition. You can’t taste it, it just rounds out the chocolate flavor)
  • 2 teaspoons water
  • 2 large eggs, cold from the fridge
  • 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chunks or chips
  • 1/2 cup good quality salted caramel sauce plus more for drizzling
  • coarse salt for sprinkling on top

 

  • Position oven rack in the bottom third of oven and preheat to 325 degrees.
  • Line an 8 inch square pan with foil, letting it hang over the edges to use as a handle later. Lightly butter or spray the foil with cooking spray.
  • Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the butter isn’t foaming anymore and there are browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Stir often and keep an eye on this. It can go from lovely browned butter to a smelly burned mess in no time flat. This will probably take about 5 minutes or so.
  • Remove from the heat and immediately add in the cocoa, sugar, water, vanilla and salt. Stir well.
  • Let cool five minutes. Add the cold eggs to the hot mixture, one at a time, beating well (by hand) after each addition. When the mixture is thick and glossy, add in the flour. Beat well by hand for one minute.
  • Stir in chocolate chips or chunks. Spread batter into the prepared pan. Drizzle the salted caramel sauce over the top of the batter. You could swirl it in if preferred, but I just let it lay on top, where it gets all bubbly and more or less melts into the batter.
  • Bake at 325 for about 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out almost, but not quite, clean. Cool the pan on a rack then lift out by the edges of the paper. Cut into 16 squares. Drizzle more salted caramel  over the top of the brownies and sprinkle with coarse salt. Enjoy!

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Brown Butter Salted Caramel Brownies

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Brownies

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (Recipe Redo)

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Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread



I’m not dead!!! Honest!!! *Checks pulse*  Oh, CRAP! Maybe I AM dead!! *Tries one more time to be sure* Whew… there it is. I was worried for a second. I was having a vision of having to be a zombie and eat brains; raw, no less. For the record, I am the one American left who has never, not even once, seen “The Walking Dead” or any of the popular zombie movies. What was that one??? 28 Days Later, I believe was the name? The idea of watching an hour or more of human beings eating each other just doesn’t do much of anything for me; other than make me a wee bit queasy. I’ll stick to reruns of The West Wing, M*A*S*H and Greys Anatomy, thankyouverymuch.

Man, now that I’ve written that paragraph, how do I manage to gracefully segue from zombies and eating people to banana bread? Hmmm.

I really am alive though. I apologize for the lengthy absence. I had the stomach flu, then I went through a few days of no inspiration, then the weather finally warmed up (boy, did it ever) and I had a ton of outside chores to do or oversee with my “Momma/Wife Whip” in hand. But I’m back.

I had a bunch of bananas that I needed to use up before they morphed into sentient life forms (I may have been too late. I think I heard one whimper when I mushed it up). My husband has been wanting banana bread for a while, so I decided to redo my old chocolate chip banana bread post. I’ve been making this for years and put it up here early on in the blog and the pictures, of course, bit donkey toes. So a redo was called for so I could get this out there again. This bread is so darn good. Moist, banana-ey (yes, that is now a word. Because I said so.), chocolatey, filled with chunks of melty, gooey chocolate chips.

You want this. Your spouse wants this. Your kids want this. Your neighbors want this. Your…ok, I’ll stop now. Sorry.

You know the drill…. 🙂

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 6 to 8 mashed bananas (about 2 cups of mashed banana)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons banana flavoring (found with the vanilla extract at the store)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
  1.  Preheat oven to 350. Grease 2 9 inch loaf pans. You can use 8 inch pans if you want a thicker loaf, but add on about 10 to 15 minutes more baking time.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda.
  3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the bananas and mix well. Mix in the eggs, vanilla extract and banana extract. Add the dry ingredients all at once to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.
  4. Pour into the two prepared loaf pans and bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer poked into the center of the loaf comes out almost clean. It’s ok if there are a few moist crumbs on it.. Let it cool for five minutes in the pan then turn it out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Copyright Notice: From Cupcakes To Caviar images and original content are copyright protected. Please do not publish these materials anywhere without prior permission.

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Brown Butter, Cherry & Salted Pepita Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Brown Butter, Cherry & Salted Pepita Chocolate Chip Cookies

Brown Butter, Cherry & Salted Pepita Chocolate Chip Cookies



It’s said that necessity is the mother of invention. There are times when I’m creating that I find that to be true. I had this cookie all planned out. it was going to use a combo of flavors I loved- cherries, chocolate and pistachios. But have I ever mentioned that little fact that I’m a mom to two young men? Well, I’m a mom to six, but only three are still at home. So, I went to go get all my ingredients ready (big believer in “mise en place” here… never start cooking until you have everything you’ll need ready to go) and lo and behold, my recently bought bag of roasted and salted pistachios were nowhere to be found. That’s where the “I have two young men still at home” seems to have come into play. I have learned that if I have something that is out of the norm for our household, I need to stash it away somewhere where it isn’t found quite so easily. I must not have heeded my own advice in this case because….. no pistachios. Nada, zip, zilch. All gone.

After I stopped crying and making plans to go live on a deserted island in the south Pacific all by myself, I had to reinvent what I had planned to invent. After a search through the cabinets, I found a bag of roasted and salted pepitas. I originally bought them to make my “famous” :-p pumpkin bread. But for unbeknownst to me reasons, I never got around to making any pumpkin bread this past Autumn/ Winter season. The result being that I had still had a full bag of pepitas. So I improvised. And you know what? These are some seriously awesome cookies. You can never go wrong with browned butter anyway… and then when you add in sweet creamy chocolate, tart cherries and crunchy salted pepitas, you end up with a really really tasty treat. I also sprinkled a little salt on top of the cookies. This is something I had never done before myself, though I’d seen it done elsewhere. I figured “what the heck” and went for the whole sweet/salty thing and oh my gosh, it was fantastic. If you’re not sure, just sprinkle some on one cookie and try it. If you don’t like it, just one cookie wasted. but if you DO, you’ll be in Heaven.

You know the drill…. Get to cookin’!

Brown Butter, Cherry And Salted Pepita Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, browned to a golden brown color & cooled
  • 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tablespoons cream
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 8 ounces dried tart cherries
  • 1 cup roasted, salted pepitas
  • 1 12 ounce bag semi sweet chocolate chips
  • coarse salt for sprinkling on top (optional)
  1. First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and brown your butter-  toss your butter into a medium pot. With the heat on medium high, cook the butter (DON’T walk away!) until it turns a medium (dang, I’m using the word medium a lot) golden brown. Swirl the pan a few times to help it along. Have a bowl ready and once it gets to the right color, immediately pour the butter out into the bowl. Let this cool for about 30 minutes before you continue.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the cooled butter and both the sugars. Beat on medium (there’s that word again) speed until it is thick and creamy. Add in the egg, egg yolk, cream and vanilla. beat on low speed just until combined.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Dump this into the butter mixture and beat on low speed until thoroughly combined, scraping the bowl down once.
  4. Fold in the cherries, chocolate chips and pepitas.
  5.  Line your cookie sheet(s) with a silicone baking mat ( like my favorite ones right here )  or lightly grease.  Scoop out large spoons full of dough (about golf ball sized) and shape into a circle in the palm of your hands. Place them about 2 inches apart on your cookie sheets.
  6. Bake at 350 until golden brown and firm on top, about 16 to 18 minutes. let rest on the pan for a minute, then transfer to a rack to finish cooling. Other than the one or two you snag for yourself to eat all warm and gooey, of course. If desired, sprinkle the tops of the cookies with coarse salt upon taking them out of the oven. If you don’t, that’s cool; they are still some of the most delicious cookies ever.

Copyright Notice: From Cupcakes To Caviar images and original content are copyright protected. Please do not publish these materials anywhere without prior permission.

Brown Butter, Cherry & Salted Pepita Chocolate Chip Cookies

Brown Butter, Cherry & Salted Pepita Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cinnamon Orange Cappuccino Brownies With An Orange Glaze

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Cinnamon Orange Cappuccino Brownies With An Orange Glaze

Cinnamon Orange Cappuccino Brownies With An Orange Glaze

 

When I first moved to this side of Kentucky, I missed all the big malls that were in the Louisville area. We pay for the beauty of this side of the state with a bit of isolation. Now, I’ve never been a Mall Rat by any stretch of the imagination, but I did sorely miss things like Cinnabon, The Hallmark Store and Godiva. So I was tickled when I finally got into the “big” city of Lexington (where I lived then was about 3000 people and where I am now about 17,000 for the whole town, but only a few hundred in the area I live in, with NO civilization at all) and found a mall. One of the places I absolutely loved to go to in there was a coffee shop. For the life of me, I can’t remember the name now, but I loved it. Sadly, they closed a few years after I found it. Things like that happen near me. I’m that person who gets into the check out lane and the computer breaks JUST after I set all my groceries down; that person who discovers an amazing new product only to have it discontinued a month after I find it, with no chance to even stock up.

Without fail, every time I went to this shop, I got the same thing, something that I have seen nowhere since (though I make my own version now). It was half coffee, half hot chocolate, with a shot of orange syrup and copious amounts of cinnamon sprinkled on top.. So, so delicious. The flavors of the chocolate, the cinnamon and the orange all combined together into pretty much the perfect coffee drink. When I make it for myself now, it is usually during the Winter and nine times out of ten, I will add a shot of my favorite brandy . What!? It makes it extra delicious and toe warming. 😀

So, when I was deciding what to make here, brownies popped into my head, at which point I smacked myself upside the head and said, “Janet, you just want brownies and you already have 72 different ones here.” So, after telling myself to shut up, I realized myself…erhmmm, I, was correct. I needed to DO something with said brownies. So I turned them into a brownie version of my favorite coffee drink. And oh my, these are decadently delicious. The brownies are soft and fudgy with hints of cinnamon and orange. The glaze is glossy perfection with a chocolate orange taste that is amazing (if I do say so myself). In case you can’t tell, I rather like these. Which is why most are going to work with Russell tomorrow, so I don’t have to be put into a piano case when I die.

You know the drill…

Mrs. Cupcake… who wants to be cremated, not buried in a piano case, thankyouverymuch.

Cinnamon Orange Cappuccino Brownies With An Orange Glaze 

  • Brownies-
  • 5 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cup up
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons orange oil , preferably Boyajian
  • 3 eggs, room temp
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons instant coffee or espresso powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • Glaze-
  • 3 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 1 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon orange oil
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream or half and half
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • chocolate covered coffee beans and orange zest for garnish
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9 inch baking pan with foil and butter the bottom of the foil.
  2. In a large microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate and butter.Microwave at 60% power for 60 seconds, then stir. If not fully melted, microwave at full power for ten seconds; stir. Let cool for five minutes.
  3. Add the sugar to the chocolate mixture; beat well with a wooden spoon or whisk. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating just until combined. Add in the corn syrup, vanilla extract and the orange oil. beat just until combined.
  4. Stir in the flour, salt, instant coffee and cinnamon. Beat just until combined.
  5. Pour into the prepared pan and bake at 325 degrees until the top is matte looking and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs on it.
  6. Let cool in the pan, on a rack, for about 2 hours or until completely cool.
  7. Make the glaze- In a small microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate and butter. Microwave at 60% power for about 30 seconds. Stir to help the chocolate finish melting. Add in the rest of the glaze ingredients and beat gently until it is a shiny cohesive glaze. Spread over the cooled brownies. For easier cutting, place the pan of brownies in the fridge for at least an hour to let the glaze set up.
  8. Cut into small squares; these are rich. Garnish each square with a chocolate covered coffee bean and some orange zest.

Copyright Notice: From Cupcakes To Caviar images and original content are copyright protected. Please do not publish these materials anywhere without prior permission.

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