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Archive for the ‘Dessert’ Category

Rice Krispy Treat Bark

Posted in Bar Desserts, Candy, Chocolate, Dessert, Peanut Butter, tagged , , , , , , , , , on February 19, 2013 | 12 Comments »

rice kriispy treat bark on overtimecook

Today’s post is really good timing.

And no, I don’t mean that this is a fabulous last minute Purim treat if you’re still stuck on what to make for your Mishloach Manot (purim basket). Although it totally is a fabulous purim treat…etc.

The reason this post is very timely is that there was in an interesting discussion on Facebook recently regarding recipe sources and credits and things. And the question came up if there’s a possibility of complete coincidences in recipes.

The answer? Yes. How do I know? Because of this recipe. Before I explain, let me say that recipe attribution is a very important issue, and one I feel very passionate about. But sometimes, two people might just have similar ideas, independently. And the proof is in the bark.

Recently, I mentioned to my friend Carla that I made rice krispy treat bark. She was floored. “So did I!” I had just finished wrapping up my photo shoot, so I asked her for details. Turns out, our ideas weren’t exactly the same, but the idea was similar. Total coincidence. (Or, as I like to think of it, great dessert minds think alike!) Anyway, after you scroll down to look at my version of this fun treat, click here to see what Carla came up with.

Anyway, for a chocolate peanut butter snack that’s as addictive as you’ll ever find, try this. You can thank me later.

rice kriispy treat bark 1

Rice Krispy Treat Bark

Ingredients:

for the rice krispy treat layer:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine

2 cups mini marshmallows

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

2 1/2 cups rice krispies

to assemble: 

10 ounces chocolate

Instructions:

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a pot over medium heat, melt the margarine or butter. Add the marshmallows and stir until melted. Add the peanut butter and stir until melted and everything is combined.

Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the rice krispies. Stir well until combined and all of the rice krispies have been coated.

Pour the rice krispies mixture onto the prepared pan and spread into a very thin layer. Set aside to cool completely.

Once the rice krispies are completely hardened, assemble the bark. Break the rice krispie treats up into small pieces. Set aside.

Line a pan (about 9×13 inches, but that isn’t too specific) with parchment paper and set aside.

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler and pour onto the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the rice krispie treat pieces. Set aside until chocolate is hardened.

Once the chocolate has set, break the bark into pieces.

Enjoy!

rice krispy treat bark 2

Thanks for coming by people! Enjoy this completely addictive treat. Come back soon for more fun and delicious recipes! – Miriam PS: don’t forget to enter my giveaway! 

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Soft Frosted Vanilla Sugar Cookies and a Review and Giveaway of Pure Vanilla

Posted in Cookbook Reviews, Cookies, Dessert, Giveaways, Holiday, purim, tagged , , , , , , on February 14, 2013 | 144 Comments »

Frosted Vanilla Sugar Cookies 2

I know it’s been a while since I did a book review, but this one is super fun, and I love this recipe for Purim (or pretty much any time. Ever.) The frosting is vanilla flavored, but add in some food coloring to match your color scheme and you’re all set.

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for a giveaway of this book!


Pure Vanilla by Shauna Sever is a super fun and creative book that aims to change your impression of vanilla from a minor side ingredient to a star of the show. Here’s what I thought of it.
At a First Glance:
I never thought of vanilla as such a starring ingredient before. To me, vanilla means no other flavor. But this book spotlights it in the most amazing ways! There’s a breakfast section, a cake section, a cookie section and a candy section. Pretty much every kind of sweet treat…highlighting vanilla!

Some Features I Liked:
This book features lots of recipes, but also tips, tricks and even history surrounding the amazing flavor of vanilla which I enjoyed reading.
This is a beautifully done, hard covered book with clearly laid out recipes and gorgeous pictures. It’s an all-around pleasure to read and enjoy!
Most importantly, this book has an astonishing variety of recipes featuring vanilla in all it’s forms.

Some Recipes I Can’t Wait To Try:
Twinkie Bundt Cake: we all know that I adore bundt cakes, but the cream filling on this one is calling my name…loudly!

Ultimate Vanilla Cupcakes: because there’s no such thing as “good enough” when it comes to a vanilla cupcake!

Vanilla Bean Marshmallows: I’ve been wanting to try my hand at marshmallows for a while -and these look fabulous.

Vanilla Cloud Cake: the author says everyone who tastes this cake proclaims it’s the best they’ve ever had. How can I not try it for myself?

Who This Cookbook is For:
This is a really fun book with lots of great ideas for anybody who enjoys baking and being creative in the kitchen.
And while everyone can enjoy these delicious recipes, this book is especially good for anyone who doesn’t like (love?) chocolate. For the rest of us, yes. People like that exist. I’ve met them.

Who This Cookbook isn’t For:
Firstly, people with special dietary needs such as gluten or sugar free will not find many suitable recipes in this book.
Also, if you’re looking for an all-around dessert cookbook, this isn’t your best option. While there’s a wide variety of ideas, they mostly have the same flavor.

What I Didn’t Like About this Cookbook:
As I’ve written so many times in the past, this is a niche cookbook, which by default means there are limitations. In this case, (obviously) everything is vanilla flavored.
Another thing (which I know I’ve mentioned many times before as well) is that many of the recipes don’t have pictures. Call me spoiled, but especially with some of the more visual recipes that’s important to me.
Lastly, while I’m okay with it, some people may not find these recipes very easy or quick.

Lastly, many of the recipes in this book use forms of vanilla which are either hard to get, expensive, or both. The author does include a substitution chart, but for some recipes she specifies that subs aren’t a good idea.

Conclusion:

This book is fun, interesting, creative and most importantly, has a bunch of great looking recipes! If you love to bake, consider purchasing it …or buy it for the baker in your life as a gift!

And here’s a recipe from the book. I am not sure what to say about this other than it’s delicious. And it so elevates the “plain” sugar cookie with all of the intense vanilla flavor!

Frosted Vanilla Sugar Cookies 3

Big Soft Vanilla Sugar Cookies:

Adapted from Pure Vanilla

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups cake flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine

2 Tablespoons vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

2 Tablespoons corn syrup

Instructions:

Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder in a small bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter/margarine and vanilla until creamy. Add the sugar and beat on high until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs and corn syrup until blended. Reduce mixer speed to medium and beat in the oil mixture. Beat until fully combined.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually mix in the flour, beating until just combined.

Cover the dough and refrigerate until firm, at least two hours (up to overnight).

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and bake as follows (depending on the size cookie you desire.)

For extra large cookies: scoop the dough onto the cookie sheet using a 1/4 cup measuring cup. Bake 3 per sheet for 15-17 minutes, until the cookies are just turning pale gold around the edges.

For regular sized cookies (pictured here) : scoop the dough using a medium cookie scoop. Bake 9 cookies per sheet for 12-14 minutes, until the cookies are just turning pale gold around the edges.

Remove cookies from the oven and set aside to cool.

Vanilla Frosting:

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine

4 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk or soy milk

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste*

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together all ingredients until fluffy. Frost the cooled cookies. Top with sprinkles or colored sugar, if desired.

*Note: if you don’t have vanilla bean paste, you can sub additional vanilla extract, though the taste won’t be quite the same. You may need to reduce the milk by a teaspoon or two to make up for the extra liquid.

Frosted Vanilla Sugar Cookies 1

And now, the giveaway!

For your chance to win a copy of Pure Vanilla:

Please note: Each entry requires its own comment! Multiple entries in one comment will only be counted once!

Entry #1 – Leave a comment on this post telling me what flavor you would like to see an entire cookbook of!

Entry #2 – Follow @OvertimeCook on twitter and leave a comment on this post telling me that you did.

Entry # 3- Like Tales of an Overtime Cook on Facebook and leave a comment on this post telling me that you did.

Entry # 4 – Follow @OvertimeCook on Pinterest and leave a comment on this post telling me that you did.

Entry # 5 – Subscribe to OvertimeCook via email (link is on the right sidebar of the blog). and leave a comment on this post telling me that you did.

Note: if you already like/follow etc, that’s fine. Just leave a comment letting me know that!

Giveaway Details:

Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM on Thursday, February 22nd. A valid email address or twitter profile must be provided.

Prize can be shipped within the US and Canada.

Giveaway is sponsored by the publisher.

Disclaimer: this book was sent to me for review by the publisher. All opinions are my own. There are affiliate links within this post.

Thanks all for stopping by! Good luck with the giveaway and enjoy the cookies! Have a fabulous weekend and come back soon! Next week I have some super delicious treats to share with you all! -Miriam

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Healthy Blueberry Muffins

Posted in Breakfast, Dessert, Healthy, Muffins/Cupcakes, Super-Easy, tagged , , , , , , on February 6, 2013 | 13 Comments »

healthy blueberry muffins 2

Can we talk about names for a minute?

I have a pet peeve. I know, my name is somewhat unusual. Okay, in the Orthodox Jewish world, Miriam is about as common of a name as you get, but in the general world, Miriam isn’t very common. It’s okay, I run with it.

But here’s the thing. Nobody can seem to get my name right. People call me at work, and I introduce myself as Miriam. “Did you say Maya?” I used to correct them, but I learned better. Just go with it. “That’s right. Mary Anne.” “Yes, I did say Maria.” I don’t bother, people don’t get it either way.

So the first part of my pet peeve is people who get my name wrong, then proceed to use it way too many times in the course of our conversation. “So Marilyn…and now Marilyn I am going to need…thank you so much Marilyn…” And the entire time I can’t really focus on what they are telling me, because I keep thinking I AM NOT MARILYN. Why yes, I do think in caps. 

But that’s the least of it. My real pet peeve is people who get my name wrong…in writing. Ok, I get it if you aren’t sure if I am a man or a woman if we’ve only communicated by email, so I can forgive the Mr. But I really can’t forgive calling my Mirium if we email back and forth multiple times per day, and my name is right there in my email signature! Also? I can’t really forgive the whole adding-an-e-to-my-last name thing. Seriously. Read my signature folks.

It’s simple: better to use no name than the wrong name. Who is with me?

Whew. Ok, there’s my rant. Now let’s talk muffins. These are delicious. And they have no sugar. Or white flour. And very little oil. And fruit. See? Healthy! And awesome.

So to recap: calling someone by the wrong name? Bad. These muffins? Good.

healthy blueberry muffins 3

Healthy Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1/4 cup agave syrup

1/4 cup canola oil

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup milk or soymilk (I use Soy Slender brand)

2 1/3 cups white whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

6 packets of splenda (or 1/4 cup sugar or sugar substitute of your choice)

1 cup blueberries (straight from the freezer is fine; don’t let them defrost)

1 Tablespoon white whole wheat flour

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin pan with paper muffin liners.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the applesauce, agave syrup and oil until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla, one at a time, whisking to combine after each addition. Add the milk and whisk until combined.

Add the flour, baking soda and baking powder to the bowl, and stir until combined. Do not overmix.

In a small bowl, combine the blueberries and flour. Stir gently into the muffin batter.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pans, filling the cups about 3/4′s full.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

healthy blueberry muffins

Thanks for stopping by! Hope my healthy recipes aren’t boring you too much! Purim goodies are on the way! – Miriam PS – you do not want to miss this week’s Ami – I have the four coolest recipes ever in it this week! 

 

 

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Healthy Chocolate Cheesecake Pancakes

Posted in Breakfast, Cheesecake/Dairy Desserts, Dairy, Healthy, tagged , , , , , , , on January 30, 2013 | 13 Comments »

healthy chocolate cheesecake pancakes on overtimecook

I love weekends.

And I know what you’re thinking. “Duh. We all do.”

But I have an extra love for weekends, and it’s called pancakes. I know, I know, I’ve discussed this before, but I have a feeling most of you weren’t around back then, so let me reiterate.

Weekday breakfasts in my world consist of an enormous cup of coffee as I start up my computer at work, followed by a bowl of cereal and milk about an hour later. And in case any of you thought that bowl of cereal was a treat of any sort, let me clarify.

When I say bowl, I actually mean a cup. As in the awful little Styrofoam cups that my company expects us to drink out of. And I have a theory about my cereal that is proven correct pretty much every morning. It goes like this: basically the world somehow knows the exact second that I pour milk over my cereal, and suddenly my phone rings. And just as I manage to get the person off the phone, hoping to salvage the last bits of crispness in the aforementioned cup, my phone rings again. And it pretty much goes on like that until my cup is full of a soggy mess of cereal.

And that my friends, is breakfast. On a weekday.

And that’s why I have an extra little love for weekends. Honestly, it’s not always pancakes. Sometimes it’s an omelette Sometimes it’s a gourmet form of oatmeal. And often it’s pancakes. And on occasion, it’s ice cream. Don’t judge.

But I digress. Let’s get back to pancakes, shall we?

I’ve been experimenting with various versions of pancakes lately, and this one is among my favorites. It’s healthy and it has chocolate, need I say more?

healthy chocolate cheesecake pancakes 3

Healthy Chocolate Cheesecake Pancakes:

Adapted from my Healthy Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups low-fat cottage cheese

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup (white) whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup cocoa powder

16 packets of splenda or 2/3 cup sugar or sugar substitute

chocolate chips, optional (I used sugar free)

Instructions:

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the cottage cheese, milk, eggs and vanilla. Stir until combined.

Add the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and splenda and mix until completely combined.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Spray with pam or non stick baking spray.

Pour the batter in heaping spoonfuls onto the hot pan. Fry until the top appears set, then flip it over and fry it until cooked through. It should be lightly browned on the outside of both sides.

If you want an extra treat, sprinkle them with chocolate chips just before flipping them.

Serve hot, with maple syrup, berry sauce (that’s a recipe I’ll have to post one day) or even chocolate sauce!

Enjoy!

healthy chocolate cheesecake pancakes 2

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you all try these delicious pancakes! -Miriam PS- do you follow me on Facebook? Pinterest? Twitter? Instagram? I love connecting with my readers, so make sure to find me!

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Chewy Mocha M&M Cookies

Posted in Chocolate, Cookies, Dessert, tagged , , , , , on January 29, 2013 | 37 Comments »

mocha cookies 2

These cookies were totally born out of necessity, which pretty much makes them amazing.

Ok, I think I need to explain myself a bit here, right?

See, here’s what happened. It started with an awesome dessert that I made for my column in Ami Magazine. The dessert actually has nothing to do with mocha, but I needed something pretty to anchor the treat in the bowl. I headed to the local candy store, and looked around till I came up with these mocha flavored chocolate lentils. The color matched perfectly to the style I was going for.

I loaded up a big bag full of these candies and headed to the checkout. On a related note, I sometimes wonder if the checkout people in the various stores I frequent find my purchases bizarre. Like the Century 21 cashier who rang up my purchase of 1 of each napkin in the store. Just one. Those of us who are food stylists/photographers totally get it. But in the real world, people like to match. Same with the home goods cashier and the variety of plates. You get my point. It’s a weird job sometimes.

Anyway. Back to these candies. They did exactly what I needed them to do, which was sit in the background and look pretty. But then the shoot wrapped up and I was left wondering what to do with a big back of mocha flavored lentils. Well, my mind went straight to cookies, as if often does. And that’s how I found myself in the kitchen, baking mocha cookies.

And if you aren’t a food photographer who happens to have a boatload of mocha flavored M&M’s on hand? Well you can sub coffee flavored chocolate chips, or even cappuccino chips. I’m not picky.

mocha cookies 1

Chewy Mocha Cookies:

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon instant coffee powder, dissolved in:

1 Tablespoon boiling water

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/3 cup cocoa powder

2 cups mocha flavored chocolate lentil candies

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until smooth.

Add the vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beating well to incorporate after each addition.

Dissolve the coffee powder in the boiling water and beat into the mixer.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.

With the mixer on low, beat in the dry ingredients mixture. Beat until just combined.

Add the candies (or chips, if using) and stir until evenly distributed.

Using a medium cookie scoop (or a heaping tablespoon measuring spoon) scoop the mixture onto the prepared tray(s).

Bake at 350 for 9 minutes.

Remove from oven and set aside to cool for a couple of minutes before removing from tray.

Enjoy!

mocha cookies 3

Thanks folks for stopping by! Hope you love these cookies! And come back soon, I have a fabulous breakfast recipe to share! PS- Want to see the amazing recipes? Stay tuned for an Ami coming soon to a store near you! -Miriam

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Brownie Bites with Peanut Butter Frosting

Posted in Bar Desserts, Chocolate, Dessert, Peanut Butter, tagged , , , , on January 22, 2013 | 47 Comments »

brownie bites 1

I recently came to an awful realization. I’ve been a horribly neglectful blogger.

I am sorry. Really, I am. But this blog is almost a year and a half old, and to date, I only have one brownie recipe posted. Two, if you count my brownie pies. But clearly that isn’t enough. I mean, is there even such a thing as “enough” brownies? I don’t think so either. 

I realized this as I was going to sleep late on Saturday night. (And if you stalk my Instagram feed, you know that was about a million o’clock, when most of you were probably near waking up.) Anyway, I rectified the situation less than 24 hours later.

And I think I made up for over a year of no brownie posts with these amazing treats. Let’s look closer, shall we?

First, I made them mini. Because we have established many times over that me and mini are like peanut butter and jelly. Or peanut butter and chocolate, as the case may be. Next, I made these super fudgy and delicious, but I also made a simple recipe that can actually be done without a mixer.

Next, I topped these brownies with peanut butter cream cheese frosting. Let’s let that sink in. Peanut. Butter. Cream. Cheese. Frosting. Because everyone knows that houses in heaven are actually made of chocolate and peanut butter molded together into delicious beauty.

Anyway, the reviews are in. Or they would be, if my tasters wouldn’t be so busy stuffing their faces with cream and grabbing for another one.

Go ahead. Make these. Then keep making them for a year. I’ll try to post some more brownies meanwhile.

brownie bites 2

Brownie Bites:

Adapted from Hershey’s

Ingredients:

1 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup cocoa

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a mini muffin pan well and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, or in a large bowl with a whisk, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and eggs, stirring well to combine after each addition. Beat until the mixture is creamy.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Stir into wet mixture and beat to combine.

Use a small cookie scoop or a half tablespoon measuring spoon to drop the brownie batter into the prepared muffin pan.

Bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes, until set.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before turning the pan over to unmold.

Set brownie bites aside to cool completely before frosting them.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients:

1/2 stick (1/4 cup)  butter or margarine

4 ounces (1/2 container) cream cheese or tofutti cream cheese

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions:

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter/margarine, cream cheese and peanut butter until combined. Add the powdered sugar and beat until creamy.

Spoon or pipe frosting on top of cooled brownies. To get the look in the picture, use a wilton 1M piping tip.

Enjoy!

brownie bites 3

Thanks for stopping by folks! Hope you adore these brownies! I know I promised you some exciting news last week, and it’s totally coming. Stay tuned… -Miriam PS- are we connecting on Facebook yet? No?! Why not?


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Vanilla Glazed Red Velvet Cream Cheese Cookies

Posted in Cookies, Dessert, tagged , , , , , , , on January 17, 2013 | 19 Comments »

vanilla glazed red velvet cream cheese cookies on overtimecook

I feel like this post needs to start with an apology.

I mean, first there’s the whole repetitive thing. I know that I posted a red velvet cake recipe last week, so it’s a little soon for another red velvet recipe. And then there’s the whole “being too trendy for my own good thing.” I mean, January is ending, which means that food blogs are about to get overloaded with red velvet in preparation for valentine’s day. So while this post may seem like my desperate attempt at getting ahead of the game, and getting traffic at the same time, I assure you, that isn’t the case.

Let’s blame this post on my brother-in-law.

You see, my brother-in-law hates chocolate. Or so he thinks. Insane. I know. Moving on. So whenever my sister and her family come for a visit, or I visit them, I find myself enormously challenged to come up with non-chocolate desserts. And while some of my favorite and most popular recipes were inspired by this very restriction, I came up with an interesting discovery. If said brother-in-law doesn’t know that an item has chocolate, he’s totally cool with eating it.

Which brings us right back to red velvet. And why I made them this week. I’m going to be spending the weekend at my sister’s, and I, of course, am bringing the dessert. This dessert. Let’s see how he loves it!

No, my brother-in-law doesn’t read this blog. Why do you ask?

Now let’s talk about this recipe. And how it’s so good that I totally won’t apologize for it.

I invented it at 11:30 last night, after being completely unhappy with the results of my google search. All the red velvet cookie recipes that I found were either made from a mix, or they were basically chocolate cookies with red food coloring. I wanted to get the proper red velvet texture, so I made these. And then I decided that topping them with cream cheese would be nice, but why not dump the cream cheese right into the batter? Genius. I know. And then, in an effort to be somewhat less cliche, I opted for a vanilla glaze. Don’t look at me like that. There’s cream cheese in the dough!

Anyway, how successful were these? Well, one coworker said “I just died and went to heaven.” Another was even more enthusiastic. “Let’s both quit our jobs,” he proposed, “and go into the business of selling these together.”

Yep, they’re that good. Now let’s see what my brother-in-law has to say about them.

red velvet cookies 3

Red Velvet Cream Cheese Cookies:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup milk or soy milk

1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

8 ounces cream cheese or tofutti cream cheese

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 Tablespoon red food coloring

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 3/4 cups flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the milk and vinegar and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter/margarine, cream cheese, sugar and brown sugar until creamy.

By this time, the milk should appear somewhat curdled. Add it to the mixer and beat to combine.

Add the egg, food coloring and vanilla, beating to combine after each addition.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda.

With the mixer on a low speed, slowly add the dry ingredient mixture and beat until just combined.

Use a small cookie scoop to drop the dough onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes.

Remove from oven and set aside to cool completely before glazing.

Vanilla Glaze:

Skip the glaze if you don’t want the extra step, but it sure is pretty!

Ingredients:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon oil

4 teaspoons milk or soy milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined. The consistency should be thick enough for the glaze to hold it’s shape. (Add a bit more powdered sugar, if needed. )

Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies. Use a plastic squirt bottle for an even and neat look.

Enjoy!

red velvet cookies 2

Thank you for stopping by! Come back soon- I have something exciting to share with you! -Miriam

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Mini Red Velvet Bundt Cakes with Cream Cheese Glaze

Posted in Bundt Cake, Cake, Dairy, Dessert, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 10, 2013 | 26 Comments »

Mini Red Velvet Bundt Cakes

Hey friends! Long time no speak, huh? I would totally apologize for my long absence, but I had such a good reason that I am not going to even bother. Plus I might just do it again. I am not going to go into details, but I will say that if you’re a reader of Ami Magazine, you are in for a huge treat. (Speaking of Ami, did y’all catch my gorgeous cookies on the cover last week?!)

Anywho. Let’s talk about the main reason you’re here: cake! Specifically, these gorgeous little bundt cakes.

I first made these cakes for the charity party I worked on recently. They were a hit, but sadly I didn’t get to photograph them.

Then I made these cakes on Hannukah when my whole family was around. Again, it was a hit, but sadly I didn’t have a chance to take pictures. I knew I had to make the cake again to photograph it, but I don’t like to bake the same thing too many times, so I didn’t think that was going to happen too soon.

Then my cousin and his family came to stay at my house for a couple of days. His adorable daughter Rose wanted to bake with me, and I had just the idea to make an eight year old girl’s dreams come true. I pulled out my humongous box of colorful sprinkles, sugar, icing, and other decorating supplies. You can all probably imagine how her eyes widened in glorious delight when she saw the selection in front of her. She had such a fun time choosing one thing to use in baking, but after about 20 minutes, she came back to the one I knew she would pick. It was the same one my nieces always pick, and the same one any little girl would choose in her spot. It’s a multi-pack of pink and red sugar, sprinkles and heart shaped confetti. When I saw her choice, I knew these red velvet cakes would be on the menu. Not only are they delicious, but they looked beautiful with her choice of decor.

And in the spirit of full disclosure, I wouldn’t let her decorate all of them. I told her I wanted a chance, but you all know what was going through my mind, right? Photo-shoot. Yep. Bad cousin, good cousin, it’s all very confusing.

But at least we had cake!

Mini Red Velvet Bundt Cakes 2

Red Velvet Bundt Cake

Adapted from Kiss My Bundt, via LA Times

Ingredients: 

1 1/4 cups canola oil

1 cup buttermilk or soured (soy) milk

2 eggs

2 Tablespoons red food coloring

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a large bundt pan or mini bundt pans with floured baking spray (or regular spray and flour) and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and cocoa powder.

Add the dry ingredients to the mixer, in about four batches (so the batter doesn’t form clumps).

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. If using mini bundts, fill each one about three fourths full.

Bake at 350 until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. About 45 minutes for a full size bundt, or 18-20 minutes for a mini bundt.

Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Cream Cheese Glaze:

Ingredients:

2 ounces cream cheese (tofutti works fine)

1 1/4 cups confectioner’s sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon milk

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, stirring until smooth.

Drizzle glaze over cooled bundt cakes.

Enjoy!


 Mini Red Velvet Bundt Cakes 3

Thank you all for stopping by! Hope everyone’s new year has been amazing so far! -Miriam

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