14 Jan 2011

Delicious Wilmington: Coastal Cupcakes

by | posted in: chocolate, food, restaurants | 2

I think every other cupcake business in Wilmington needs to just close up shop and that Coastal Cupcakes needs to bake more cupcakes. 

Best cupcake I’ve had, hans down.  I’ve had cupcakes in Chicago, RDU, Publix (which are a favorite of mine), TN,  CO.  Cupcake bakeries and “shoppes” are all the rage right now, so there seems to be one on every corner.  They do it right!

A friend and I share the coconut with cream cheese icing and coconut on top.  The most moist, fall apart, not dry at all cupcake.  Flavorful and just melt in your mouth.  Most cupcakes I’ve tasted in bakeries taste like they are frozen.  I would have though these were baked right before we walked in (though the icing wasn’t melting, so I know they weren’t).  The coconut wasn’t hard.  The cream cheese frosting was just bliss. 

I would love to have tried all of them, and the shop clerk that day was so kind and gracious to let me come behind the counter to not have the glass in all the pictures!

Thank you Coastal Cupcakes!  Keep baking!  I will return!

11 Jan 2011

Favorites of RDU

by | posted in: chocolate, food, photo shoot | 2

Ice.  That is what today is about.  There is ice, not snow, in RDU.  This has been one of the coldest winters I’ve experienced in RDU since moving here in 2000.  Note: we haven’t had 24 inches of snow (like in January 2000) or TONS of ice like we had in 2005 (or was it 2004)?  But, with temperatures not even reaching 50, really, not even 40, for most of the days for the past 6 weeks, its cold.

So, I thought I would talk about something happy and fun: favorite places in the Triangle.  There is a reason I love this place and am glad to call it home!

These are in no particular order:

Fosters Durham/Chapel Hill: I love her home-cooked food but upscale.  It is a place to sit all day with a book or a laptop and enjoy a scone with some snickerdoodle coffee or a glass of wine.  Her omelettes are fantastic and any of her baked goods are usually just what the doctor ordered.  I haven’t figured out which location I like better.

Best Dessert I’ve tried so far in RDU: Butterscotch Blondie at Bogart’s.  I had to share, it was my birthday, but I could have eaten the whole thing – with the ice cream.  So good.  Oh, and the inside out pb cup from Cafe Carolina .  So good.  Wish I could make.

Best Wine Experience: Sip in Cary.  Such a quaint, decorative place that you want to stay and get to know the owners and everyone who stops in.  They know their stuff: and everything is eco-friendly!

Best Thai Food: Chai’s in Durham on Erwin Road.  I haven’t been back since I returned to the state, because I’ve been trying out new places.  But, hands down, this is the best place by far if I want some delicious salty steamed edemame or a huge bowl of spicy chicken pad thai.

Go sit all day: Panera Crabtree.  The reasons are this: refillable unsweet tea, wifi free usage, overhear engaging conversations, 5 minutes door to door, and cheap, somewhat healthy food.

Outdoor Activities: Volleyball courts at Pullen Park, Shelley Lake for walking, Umstead park, summer movies at the museum of art, July 4 at Cary Amphitheatre, photo shoots at NCSU Arboretum or Duke Gardens, or anywhere on the campus of SEBTS or UNC. 

Best Cheap Mexican: Salsa Fresh is at least every 2 weeks – I’m going there tomorrow.

Best Jewelry: Moon & Lola

Best Pizza: Anna’s Pizzeria in Apex or Lilly’s at Five Points

Best Sushi: Champas at Briar Creek

What other places do I need to try?  I can branch out to anywhere in the Triangle.  I love new things.  What are some of your favorite things about living in the Triangle?

10 Jan 2011

Rice Krispy Chocolate Chip Cookie Muffins

by | posted in: chocolate, food | 2

 

I got to bring something to a birthday party this past weekend and had most of the ingredients for these, so I went with a new recipe.  I liked the crisp in them and of course the addition of a little hershey’s chocolate on top.

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 cup rice krispies

4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

mini hershey bars

Tools: mini muffin pan, small cookie scoop, stand mixer, measuring spoons and cups, spatula

Cream butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla.  Mix dry together and add to wet.  Fold in cereal and chocolate chips. 

Spray muffin pans and bake at 350 for about 12 minutes.  Makes approximately 30.  Remove from oven when done.  Immediately put 1/2 of a miniature hershey bar in the top.  Let cool completely.

23 Dec 2010

Triple Layer Brownies

by | posted in: chocolate | 0

My Mom does make some great things when she follows recipes. She knows I am kidding when I say this, but she also knows its partly true…her lack of following directions when she bakes – kinda whatever she wants to put in there is what goes.
Well, let me tell you – these were in the fridge when I got home, and they were so good…so here is her recipe!

2 brownie mixes (1 supreme, 1 regular)
mix according to directions – so you’ll need eggs, oil, and water)
4 cups mini marshmallows
1 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 T butter
1 cup peanut butter, creamy
2 cups rice krispies.

Brownies mixes to package, spread in 10×15 pan (sprayed and foiled) and bake according to directions, or about 15 minutes at 350.
While hot, sprinkle marshmallows on top (1 whole bag). Return to over for 3 minutes.
Take a knife, dipped in water, and spread out the marshmallows. Let cool.
Mix the pb and chocolate chips and butter, over low heat, till melted. Stir. Take off heat and add in rice krispies.
Spread over brownies.
Chill, cut, and serve at room temp.

Enjoy!

17 Dec 2010

Chocolate York Cookies Sandwiches with Mint Buttercream Filling

by | posted in: chocolate | 2
Deep chocolate with york peppermint candies and a mint buttercream filling. Yum.
I took a hint for the cookie from The Novice Chef and then made it my own. Thank you!
Here you go: great for kids of all ages…

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
5 Tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup York mini candies (the ones that look like m&ms)

Cream wet, add dry. Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes. Let cool completely.

1 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1.5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 t milk
2 t peppermint extract

Cream butter for about 5 minutes. Add in sugar and keep beating for about 5 total minutes. Add in milk and extract. Beat a little more till light and fluffy.

Then put buttercream in between 2 cookies and enjoy!

13 Nov 2010

Dorie Greenspan's Quintuple Chocolate Brownies

by | posted in: chocolate | 0
A friend who had one of these brownies said they were like fudge. Not fudge brownies, just fudge. I’ll take that as a compliment. These were delicious. I made them to celebrate a friend’s birthday. She liked them with some coffee ice cream. I just used dark chocolate sauce and cool whip. Either way – just eat them. Thank you Dorie.

1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter
3 oz unsweetened chocolate (I used baker’s)
3 oz bittersweet chocolate (I used hershey’s dark)
2 T coffee
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 t vanilla
6 oz milk chocolate chips (I used hershey’s milk)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (down from 1 cup)

Glaze:
6 oz white chocolate (I used hershey’s white)
1/3 cup heavy cream

Sift all the dry together and set aside. Melt chocolate and butter and coffee over medium heat. Add in sugar. Add in eggs one at a time, add in vanilla. Add in dry. Fold in nuts and chocolate chips.
Bake at 325 in greased and foiled square pan for 35 minutes (I had to cook mine for another 9), so just check it. You don’t want to overcook.

Cool for 20 minutes. Flip out onto cooling rack. When completely cool, then glaze. Heat cream to boiling (watch carefully as not to scald), pour over white chips, then pour over brownies. Set in fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

5 Nov 2010

Chocolate Chip Nutella Cookies

by | posted in: chocolate | 0
Finally bought some Nutella when my parents were here over the summer. Got around to using it tonight for these yummy cookies.
Chocolaty – with a hint of hazelnut goodness known as Nutella.

1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of white sugar
1 cup of Nutella
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of chocolate chips

Cream, then combine dry. Fold in chips. 350, greased cookie sheet, small cookie scoop, 11-12 minutes depending on cookie sheet and other variables. Mine cooked perfectly at 11:30, but check it the first time around at around 10 to see how far you have to go to get that perfect doneness.
Enjoy.

3 Nov 2010

Sara Foster's Blondies

by | posted in: chocolate | 0
Here is another good blondie recipe from my Durham/CH cafe friend, Sara Foster. These make a lot so I’ll be dishing them out to folks tomorrow.

4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 sticks, unsalted butter, softened
4 cups packed brown sugar
4 eggs
1 T vanilla
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine dry. Cream sugar and butter, add in eggs then vanilla. Mix with dry. Fold in nuts and chips.

Bake in greased 17×12 shallow pan. Press the batter into the pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 325. Enjoy!

25 May 2010

Dark Chocolate Walnut Brownies

by | posted in: chocolate, Uncategorized | 0

I serve in the college ministry here at my church – and what goes better with college students than brownies.  As I told my roommate tonight, I explained that even though I have so many brownie recipes, I always try a new one.  This one will make the top 5.

8 oz unsweet chocolate

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/3 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground coffee granules

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Melt butter and chocolate over low heat.  Mix eggs through vanilla.  Add in cooled chocolate.  Mix dry.  Combine and pour into a foiled/sprayed 9×13 pan.  Top with walnuts.  Bake for about 33 minutes.  Cool, remove, cut.  Enjoy with a glass of milk or ice cream.

6 May 2010

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake (2010.18)

by | posted in: chocolate | 0

Semi-homemade dessert/brunch/breakfast. This is good – but to me it tastes just like a normal cake – in a different shape. It should be good with the amount of eggs in it. The chocolate isn’t overwhelming (I didn’t put the glaze on it – it probably would be too sweet). Even though it didn’t come out the best, I’m still taking it to the office tomorrow because I can’t see throwing money completely down the drain. I hope some of it gets eaten at least.
It does annoy me when magazines don’t put their name on the top or bottom of pages. I don’t know where this came from, but here you go:

1 butter cake mix
1 8oz container (light) sour cream
3/4 c canola oil
2/3 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Mix all but the last two. Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan – half the batter. Combine brown sugar and chips – sprinkle in (see picture). Top with remaining batter. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until done. Let cool, remove, cut.
The sugar and the chocolate helps the chocolate chips from sinking. I would maybe even put a little more – but I doubt this will make it into a rotation. Although good for a quick yummy eating because most of the stuff will be handy or cheap.