Kathleen Siegle

White Chocolate Alfajor Cupcakes

January 27, 2014

Welcome to Alfajor Cupcakes part deux. A few weeks ago I made Chocolate Alfajor Cupcakes with chocolate cream cheese frosting swirled with dulce de leche. They were, to put it lightly…to die for. So, just to make sure I’m covering all bases, I baked some white chocolate ones. Truth be told, there are some people out there that don’t LIKE chocolate. Craziness. They prefer white, which I affectionately call naked chocolate. Pair naked chocolate with dulce de leche and I’m sold.

I found a recipe for white chocolate cupcakes from The Curvy Carrot, which boasted to give a moist cupcake with ultimate white chocolate flavor. It was exactly what I was looking for. I wanted to make sure when eaten, it was unmistakably a white chocolate cupcake and not vanilla. I crumbled some of my favorite Alfajor cookies (these were dipped in white chocolate) and baked them right in the batter. The Alfajor cookies can be found on Gaucho Direct. Even if you aren’t planning on making these cupcakes, get some Alfajores. You won’t be disappointed. They rock. The frosting is simple and easy, made with tons of dulce de leche. To make a stiffer frosting just add a little more sugar than the recipe calls for. It comes out fluffy and caramely and just plain yummy.

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Pink Lemonade Madeleine Cookie Sandwiches

January 25, 2014

I think I have become obsessed with lemon. I’ve never baked with it until I made these beauties and I’m pretty sure it was the lemon butter cream frosting that did me in. I kind of avoided lemons because…I’m lazy and didn’t want to zest 10 million lemons to make a quarter cup of frosting. I don’t know what little voice told me that zesting 10 million lemons is a reality in the baking world, but I mistakenly listened to it and missed out on so many cookies, cakes, and desserts I could have made! So lately I’ve been pondering what other delights I can make with lemon. Madeleines have always been one of my favorite cookies, so combining them with my latest obsession was really fun! The fresh lemon make these Pink Lemonade Madeleine Cookie Sandwiches so vibrant and zesty.

Oh, and they’re pretty and dainty! Who doesn’t want to eat something pretty and dainty?

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Blueberry Cornbread Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

January 20, 2014

I’m a southern California girl. I was born in Mission Viejo near Laguna Beach. I left when I was about 12 and headed to the melting pot known as Florida. I loved my little hometown. From what I remember, it was fabulous. I was barely a tween, but I had good memories. In my profession I meet people from all over the world. So whenever I come across a southern Californian, I’m excited and tell them I’m from little Mission Viejo. Quite often, I get a little smirk or chuckle. A little confused, I finally asked what was so funny. Let’s just say Mission Viejo is New Jersey and Laguna Beach is New York.

So although I was born in the west, my allegiance is to the east. Specifically the south. I love all things southern. Sweet tea, corn bread, pies, fried chicken…I could go on and on. And yes, I’m in Florida. A state where so many argue that it’s not part of the bible belt, so it’s not really “southern”. I say whatever to those people! If the state serves sweet tea in their restaurants, its in the bible belt! So here are some Blueberry Cornbread Cupcakes to commemorate my love for the south.

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Biscoff Blondie Brownies

January 17, 2014

Oh Biscoff Cookie Butter. What have you done to me? I’ts only mid January and you’ve caused me to sway from my weight loss resolution. Sigh… You’re like eating Christmas.

If you haven’t tasted this stuff, it rocks. The moment I tasted it for the first time, I knew it was the beginning of a long friendship. These Biscoff Blondie Brownies are my first experiment recipe with Biscoff butter. The first layer is a really dark chocolate brownie, and the second layer is a chewy chocolate chip and walnut blondie (with Biscoff mixed right into the batter of course) and the top is drizzled with melted dark chocolate and Biscoff. Pretty sinful, huh? This recipe can be tweaked a little for the health conscious, but let’s be honest. You committed to the dark side when you decided to make these evil little goodies.

Biscoff Blondie Brownies

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Brownie Layer
½ cup butter melted
1 cup sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
½ cup flour
Blondie Layer
3 Tablespoons coconut oil
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Biscoff Spread
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 - 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F and grease an 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray or butter.
For the brownie batter cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix in cocoa powder and salt. Mix in eggs and vanilla until incorporated. Mix in flour until fully incorporated. The batter will be very thick. Spread on bottom of pan.
For the blondie batter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat melt the coconut butter, biscoff and brown sugar until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. In a small mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Pour biscoff mixture in another bowl and mix in egg and vanilla extract until just blended. Add dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts. Batter will be very thick. Spread on top of brownie batter.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Once baked and cooled drizzle melted chocolate then melted biscoff on top.

Brownie layer from Creme de la Crumb and Blondies adapted from The Traveling Spoon.

Straight out of the oven these are out of this world. They are so dense and rich you better grab some milk. They last quite a while since they’re so intense, unless you decide to share. Then they will most likely disappear.

So do yourself a favor and make these now.

I promise they will knock your socks off and all your co-workers socks off. And your dog’s socks.

More Biscoffy goodness:

Biscoff Magic Cookie Bars

Biscoff Apple Spice Cake Cheesecake

Star Wars Sarlacc Bundt Cake

Strawberry Cupcakes With Mascarpone & Basil Sugar

January 11, 2014

I have always been a chocolate kind of girl. Always. I think its because chocolate is always loyal and always tastes good. I also don’t want to make something new and be utterly disappointed. So starting this blog has been a teensie bit scary. Honestly, I’m just terrified of everyone seeing my failed attempts at food photography! So as I learn the ropes I’m venturing out and munching on other things besides just chocolate chip cookies. I’m exploring a little more and so far I’m loving it. These Strawberry Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting were created for my husband, Chris. He’s a strawberry kind of guy.

I’ve never made strawberry cupcakes before, so naturally I just googled “best strawberry cupcakes” and prayed I found a blogger that was telling the truth. So with fingers crossed, I baked the recipe from Kara’s Party Ideas. So delicious! The recipe called for fresh fruit and preserves mixed into the batter which I loved. They came out super moist and you got these yummy little pockets of tangy fruit in every bite. To compliment these lovelies I wanted a really light frosting. Definitely made with whipped cream. I went with whipped mascarpone frosting from Martha Stewart and I fell totally in love. It’s sweet enough to mingle with the flavors in the cupcake but doesn’t overpower at all. To garnish them I made a fresh, herbaceous basil sugar. It was incredibly easy to make. Just throw 1 cup of granulated white sugar into a food processor with 3-4 leaves of fresh basil. Pulse until its incorporated and bright green. Of course you can add as much as you want of the basil. The fragrance that hits you right when you open the food processor is enough to make you drool. So this is my new favorite love. Basil sugar. I can’t wait to see what desserts I can work it into.

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Caramel Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

January 10, 2014

Hands down, my favorite go to sweet is, and always will be the chocolate chip cookie. I cannot resist a fresh from the oven, warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie. It makes my little heart skip a beat. Dramatic? Yes. Do I care? No. So let me show you why chocolate chip cookies are the best thing ever. I love the fact that they are so versatile. Browned butter, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, stuffed with Nutella…I could go on and on. These Caramel Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies have three kinds of chocolate, (because you can never have too much chocolate in a cookie), a caramel drizzle, and a light sprinkle of sea salt. All these things make a super yummy cookie.

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