Tag: Baking

Easier-Than-Pie Creamy Pumpkin Pie

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For Christmas, there are always a million dishes to make.  Usually, Christmas dinner is essentially a repeat of Thanksgiving.  But this year we decided to branch out, so this is our menu:

Usually, my sister and I share cooking duties.  This year, she is very pregnant and swollen.  The last thing we need is labor intensive desserts (even though I ordinarily love those).  But easy doesn’t mean it’s not tasty.

So if you’re in a similar situation (not necessarily pregnant, but just with a lot of cooking to do).  Here’s an easy and amazingly delicious dessert that’s perfect for any holiday celebration.

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Now, I’ll have to warn you. This is not your average pumpkin pie.  It’s not as dense as regular pumpkin pie, not to mention it’s in a graham cracker crust, which is unlike most pumpkin pies.  It’s creamy, almost like a light cheesecake but without the cheese.

If that sounds great to you, then give it a whirl.  If you’re apprehensive… give it a whirl.  I think you’ll love it.

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Easier-Than-Pie Creamy Pumpkin Pie

1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 stick of butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp mace (or nutmeg?)
1 cup sour cream
1-2 tsp molasses
1/4 cup sugar
Candied ginger (optional, for garnish)

Melt butter and combine with graham cracker crumbs and 1/4 cup sugar.  Press into a 9-inch pie dish.  Place in the fridge/freezer until ready to use.

Pre-heat oven to 325F.

In a bowl, beat the yolks a few mins until slightly thick.  Beat in pumpkin puree.  Add spices and then beat in sweetened condensed milk.  Pour filling into prepared pie dish.

Bake 45 mins or until pie is no longer jiggly (this is clearly a scientific method, dating a biochemist will do that to you).   Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

In a separate bowl combine sour cream, molasses and sugar.  Spread over the pie and garnish with sliced candied ginger or any other cute looking topping.  Chill for a few hours in the fridge then serve.

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Well friend, off to my pre-holiday celebration with just me and the boyfriend.   You better believe I have this pie sitting in the fridge for dessert.

Merry Christmas!!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

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These should probably be called Chocolate Crack Cookies.

choc crinkle cookies3

They’re that good. If I were Santa Claus, I would totally want these waiting for me with a huge glass of milk. I don’t even like milk, but I’d take it with these cookies.

The first time I made these was in grad school in 2009 with my friend Rhoda. We made a bunch of different cookies to give to people for the holidays. This was one of them and I remember it being amazing.

So do Santa, your neighbor, your boyfriend, your mom, whoever a favor and make them these cookies.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

adapted from Blue Ribbon Cookies

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
About 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Melt chocolate in the microwave (30 seconds at a time, stirring in between blast session until completely melted). Drizzle oil into chocolate while stirring. Once combined, add sugar and mix in. Beat in 2 eggs. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt until just combined. Don’t over-mix. Chill dough in the freezer for about an hour or in the fridge for a few hours.

Once your dough has chilled, pre-heat oven to 350F. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and place powdered sugar in a bowl.

prep cookies

Form dough into walnut sized balls (I made mine a little bigger that than because I’m terrible at calculating size). Roll in powdered sugar and place on parchment paper lined baking sheet. This should make about 24-30 cookies (the recipe says 40, but obviously I have a heavy hand in my cookie forming…)choc crinkle cookies2

Bake 10 minutes. They might look undercooked but that’s okay. Remember my rule about undercooked chocolate things… they’re delicious. Trust me.

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Allow to cool complete and serve with a glass of milk… and a side of carrots and celery for the reindeer… or to balance out the sugar, whatever you want to believe.

Pumpkin Pecan Bundt Cake

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It’s National Pumpkin Day.  Woo let’s celebrate!

Ok, I’m really not that excited, but all of a sudden I’m all about food holidays.  What could it be?

So as a result of pumpkin day, I re-examined some of my old pumpkin-y recipes.

I used to be all about the previous pumpkin-y things I’ve made…

Like these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

Pumpkin Pizza

Pumpkin Biscuits

And of course who can forget the Fall Cake with a layer of gingerbread cake and another of pumpkin cheese

But I think I found a new pumpkin love… or maybe just the flavor of the minute since it’s the first pumpkin-y thing I’ve eaten all year?  Regardless, this bundt cake is pretty tasty.

I wish I had a cute little pumpkin or plant to stick in the middle of it, but I’m not that festive.  This cake is about as festive as it’s gonna get, let’s concentrate on the taste.

Moist, pumpkin-y and spicy.  What more could you want?

Pumpkin Pecan Bundt Cake

adapted from Cooks Illustrated’s Pumpkin Bread with Ginger

2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp mace
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 can pumpkin puree
2 cups sugar
2 tbsp dark molasses
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tbsp heavy cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease and flour a bundt pan, set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.

In another large bowl, mix together sugar and vegetable oil.  Beat in egg 1 at a time.  Then beat in sour cream, heavy cream, molasses and pumpkin puree.  Beat in flour mixture until just combined.  Fold in pecans and crystallized ginger.

Pour mixture into prepared bundt pan, bake 50-70 minutes (depending on your oven) or until you insert a knife into it and it comes out clean.

Serve and celebrate pumpkin day!

Avocado Pie

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My boyfriend told me that the first time he heard about me (right before we met over 2 years ago on a random trip to Las Vegas) he thought I was going to be a rich snob.  Makes sense.  I went to Cornell at the time and when I first meet people I tend to be quiet.  I guess that translated to rich-bitch-face for me.  But luckily, we moved past that.

2 years later, he’s coming to find that I’m quite the opposite.  I might be the cheapest person I’ve ever met (after my mother that is… I had to get it somewhere right?).  Yesterday, I had us walk to Costco before going to the movie theater so we could buy the cheaper tickets there.  $8 savings!  I say yes.

My frugality translated to food as well.  For a long time, I would NEVER buy avocados.  $1+ for an avocado seemed outrageous.  But now, I’m growing up.  And guys… I buy avocados.  In fact, I just bought 2 right before writing this post.  Is my cheapness fizzing away?

I don’t think so (the avocados I just bought were on sale), but if you’re cheap like me but want to use your avocados to your full potential, here’s how:

In pie form.

Yes, it’s sweet.  Not savory, and truth be told, I don’t really taste the avocado in it.  What I do taste (and trust me I tasted this one a lot, I ate it for breakfast 3 days last week…) is delicious creamy-ness.

Avocado Pie

from Blue Ribbon Pies (mostly)

1 stick of butter, melted
1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 large avocado (or 1 1/2 small, which is what I used), lightly mashed
1/4 cup lime juice
2 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
1 can (15 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sugar

Prepare crust by mixing together melted butter, graham cracker crumbs and 1/4 powdered sugar.  Press into a 9” pie pan.  Put in the freezer until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 325.

Our lime juice over avocado slices and set aside.  In a large bowl, beat egg yolks until thick (few minutes took me about 5?).  Add avocado and lime juice and beat, add vanilla and continue to beat.  Add sweetened condensed milk and beat until well combined.  Pour mixture into prepared graham cracker crust.  Bake 20 minutes.

Allow to cool completely.  Meanwhile, mix together sour cream, vanilla and 1/4 cup sugar.  Once the pie is completely cool, spread sour cream mixture over the pie.  Chill for a few hours (I chilled it over night) then serve!

Ok so cheapness aside, I can’t take credit for this recipe.  I owe it to my lovely friend, Rhoda.  She shares my affinity for pies and cost-effectiveness, which I greatly appreciate.

But take my word for it, make this pie no one will think you’re a cheap-o.  They’ll think your awesome for 1. giving them pie, 2. making an amazing pie that looks crazy but tastes great!

Almond Joy Biscotti: Almond-Coconut Biscotti Dipped in Chocolate

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Sometimes I have random cravings like a pregnant woman.  No, I’m not pregnant.  Trust me.  I’m not, but my sister is pregnant so this is my point of comparison.  At times, I think I crave things as often as she does.

Tonight, I really wanted crunchy, raw cabbage with lemon lime and salt.  It was wonderful (and pretty random, right?).

Last week, I wanted biscotti.

Also totally random right?  Except for that fact that biscotti is delicious, and really I can’t think of a time I wouldn’t want to enjoy some biscotti with a cup of coffee.

But this biscotti:

This biscotti is crazy-delicious.  Hard to believe but true.  So go ahead.  Write down the recipe and get in the kitchen….

Almond Joy Biscotti

adapted from All Recipes

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cups sugar, divided
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 cups chocolate chips
1-2 tbsp oil

Pre-heat oven to 350F.

Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in one egg at a time then vanilla.  Stir in flour, baking powder and salt, until not quite combined.  Fold in almonds and coconut.

Line two baking sheets (or 1 large one) with parchment paper.  Flour your hands then take half the dough and drop it onto a baking sheet and try to mold it into a log-shape, more or less 3 inches wide and 12 inches long.  I say more or less because the dough will be very sticky and hard to handle but don’t worry it’ll all turn out fine once baked.  Do the same with the other half.  Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.  Once the logs have cooled, using a serrated bread cut slightly slanted into 1/2-3/4 inch thick cookies.

Turn oven down to 275F.  Lay on another parchment paper-lined baking sheets, bake for 5-10 minutes or until golden on the bottom.  Flip each cookie and bake another 5-10 minutes.  Keep a close eye on them you don’t want to burn them!

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.  Once the cookies have cooled.  Place chocolate chips in a bowl, microwave 30 seconds, then stir.  Microwave another 30 seconds, then stir.  Repeat until chocolate is melted.  Stir in 1-2 tbsp oil until the chocolate is slightly runny.

Dip one side of each cookie (Note: this makes about 40 cookies) in chocolate and lay on parchment paper.  Drizzle any remaining chocolate on top of cookies.  Refrigerate half an hour until chocolate sets.

Make a pot of coffee, serve and enjoy!

The good thing is if you’re not craving biscotti at this very moment, they stay good for about a week in an air-tight container.

So go ahead and preemptively give in to your cravings.

Make these, then snap a photo and send it to me!  No really, do it!

Banana Coconut Bars

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I’ve been on a bar kick recently.  Not the party kind of bar, like the cookie-that-you-cut type bar.  Like this:

As for the other type of bar, I’m not cool enough to hang out in bars.  You’re more likely to find me in a park.

A few weeks ago I had decided I wanted to open a bar.  Not just any bar, I wanted it to be an outdoor bar (think park meets bar, see where I’m going with this?).  I think it’s ridiculous that Southern California has awesome weather but very few places where you can enjoy the weather with a beer/wine in your hand.

Sure, there are bars with patios, but those are usually small and there’s no grass involved.  Grass is really essential to the full outdoor enjoyment. I still want to open that bar.  Would you come?

But enough about those types of bars.  Let’s talk about this sort…

I’m a fan.  You will be too.  Unless you’re like my friend Emily who hates cooked fruit, in which case you should make this instead… or this.

But if you love cooked fruit (I do!) and more importantly bananas and coconut and sweet goodness, then you should probably give these a try!

Banana Coconut Bars

3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour (or just 2 cups all purpose)
3 ripe bananas, sliced
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
5 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp brown sugar

Pre-heat oven to 350F.  Cream together 3/4 cup butter and 1/2 cup sugar.  Beat in egg.  Add flour and mix until just combined.  The texture will be pretty crumbly, press into a 9 x 13 baking dish (I used a jelly roll pan and pressed it into about 2/3 of it) lined with parchment paper.

Lay banana sliced on dough.  Next spread shredded coconut on top and chocolate chips if desired.  Drizzle with 4 tbsp sweetened condensed milk.

In a bowl combine 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup oats, 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp brown sugar.  Use your hands to work it into coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle the mixture over the bars.  Drizzle with remaining sweetened condensed milk.  Bake 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Allow to cool complete.  Cut into bars and serve!

In case it wasn’t obvious, everyone is cool enough for this bar.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (…with a touch of Bourbon)

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Some people have 4th of July traditions. Not me.  Every 4th of July is different over here.  Last year, I went to Morro Bay with my sister and her friends and hung out on a boat.  That was awesome.

The year before, I went to Burlington, VT with some friends and hung out on a boat on Lake Champlain.

Also awesome… boats were becoming a trend, no complaints there.  This year was much more low-key, but equally fun.  I’ll spare you the rant about how unfortunate it was that 4th of July fell on a Wednesday this year.  Instead, let’s talk pies.


Pies feel super American to me.

You know what else feels super American? Rhubarb.

It’s probably not, but I wasn’t introduced to rhubarb until I lived in Central NY, now it feels like a hidden secret that the middle of America let me in on.  It randomly came in one of my CSA shares, and I had no idea what to do with it.  But after an apple-rhubarb crisp making adventure, I was hooked.  Ever since I pretty much think it’s the most amazing, tangy tasting vegetable on Earth.

The best part:  It’s a vegetable that gets turned into dessert.  I can get behind that.

So randomly one day last week I saw rhubarb at the grocery store.  It sparked an idea in my brain as I had coffee on Wednesday morning…  Like all good baking ideas, it was to impress a boy.  I bet he’s never tried rhubarb.   But let’s be honest, rhubarb can be intense so I went the traditional route and paired it with strawberry.

I was right.  He had never had rhubarb.  But for someone who shares my affinity for putting lemon on everything, I knew the tangy-ness was going to be a hit.

So the next time you want to feel patriotic and/or impress someone, make this pie.  It won’t disappoint… I should also warn you that like all other things, I put bourbon in this too.  Bet you didn’t think those would go together, right?

Yeah they totally do.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with a Touch of Bourbon

Single Pie Crust:

175g All Purpose Flour
1 tbsp Sugar
pinch of Salt
1 stick of Butter, cold
2 tbsp (maybe more) Ice Water

Filling:

2 heaping cups fresh chopped rhubarb (about 1/2 pound)
3-4 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp bourbon/whiskey
1/4 cup flour

Crumble Topping:

1/2 cup Flour
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 tbsp White Sugar
pinch of Salt
3 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp bourbon

Prepare pie crust by combing flour, sugar and salt.  Using your fingers, break the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles very coarse crumbs (even pea sized is fine).  Add ice water and bring it all together into a ball using your hands.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate a few hours.  You can make this up to two days in advance.  I actually had one freezer, already in the pie dish, stored in a ziploc bag, for about a month or so (making this whole pie making business wayyy easier).

Pre-heat your oven to 350F.   Prepare the filling.  Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside while you make the crumble topping, by combining all the ingredients and breaking up the butter with your fingers until you get a coarse texture.

Pour filling into prepared pie pan (note: if you have an enormous pie dish, you might want to do more of the filling, the pie dish I used is way smaller than other glass pie dishes I own, so be warned), top with crumble topping, place pan on a baking sheet and put it in the oven.  Bake for about an hour (mine took about 1 hr and 10 minutes) or until juices are bubbling like woah (that’s really the best way to describe it).

Once the pie is golden, gooey and ready.  Allow it to cool completely.  Then serve.

This one was a winner.  Not to mention the crumble topping gives it a nice crunch and you don’t have to worry about rolling most crust for the top or taking on the lattice.

I might have to make it again, it might just happen, because in addition to July being the month for Independence Day, it’s also birthday month.  You know what the mean?  Pie and cake-making must happen.

Any suggestions for pie/cake flavors I should try out?

Date Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

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I’m nearly fully convinced that peanut butter is the most amazing thing there is.  It goes with pretty much anything.

Peanut butter and jelly. A classic.

Peanut butter on celery, pretty much the only thing that makes celery palatable.

Peanut butter and chocolate.  Divine.

Peanut butter and banana. Mouth-watering.

These are pretty much the basics.  But my newest obsession: peanut butter and dates. Words can’t even describe…

Even better, peanut butter + dates + chocolate.  A guaranteed winning combo.

Give it a try, in cookie form that is.

Date Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1/2 cup chopped dates

Preheat oven to 350F.  Cream together butter, peanut butter, sugar.  Beat in egg.  Add flours, baking soda and salt and mix until almost combined.  Fold in chocolate chips, peanuts and dates, careful to not overmix.

Place golf ball sized amounts of dough on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.  Bake 10-15 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.  Cool on a cooling rack.  Serve and enjoy! Makes about 24 cookies.


Coconut Cupcakes

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On Saturday mornings, my boyfriend sometimes takes me on a hot date… to the swap meet.  What can I say, we’re classy like that.  Clearly by “hot” I mean it’s literally warm out.

He likes to get an enormous tejuino.

I like to get an enormous cup of mixed fruit, which I proceed to douse in lime and chili.   In my mixed fruit cup, there’s always cucumber, pineapple, watermelon and fresh coconut.  The only reason I get the mixed fruit and not the delicious mango covered in chili and lime is that I absolutely love coconut.

I pretty much like anything that’s coconut flavored but you can’t beat the taste of real, fresh coconut.  So next time you feel the need for a coconut treat I recommend going to the swap meet at OCC (if you live in Orange County), but if not, make these:

No extracts.  Just the real stuff.

Coconut Cupcakes

adapted from Epicurious

For Reduced Coconut Milk:

2 cans coconut milk (to be reduced)

For Cupcakes:

2 cups cake flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature (3/4 cup)
1 1/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup reduced coconut milk

For Frosting:

1 Stick of Butter, Room Temperature
4 oz cream cheese
3 cup powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp reduced Coconut milk

In a deep saucepan, bring 2 cans of coconut to a boil.  Simmer about 30-40 minutes until reduced to about 1 1/2 cups liquid.  Set aside to cool completely.

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a bowl, combine cake flour, baking soda and salt.  In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Then blend in vanilla extract.  Add dry ingredients, beat until just combined.  Beat in coconut milk.  Pour batter into 18-20 lined cupcake pan.  Bake 18-20 mins (depending on your oven this will vary).  Remove from pan and allow to cool completely.

Next make the frosting. Beat together all the frosting ingredients.  Gradually add in coconut milk until you get the right consistency.

Frost and garnish with extra flaked coconut.

Serve and enjoy!

The coconut flavor is light and delicate, but most definitely there.  So when you need your coconut fix, give these a whirl.

They’re probably easier to make than cracking open a coconut or searching for a swap meet… just sayin’.

Double Chocolate Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

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Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the blogs I read.  There are some I read strictly for photo or recipe purposes and others for the content.  More often than not, the blogs I read for content are based on someone’s life.  Apparently, I’m nosey.

So I started thinking about my own blog.  Is it one of those look at the photos and recipe blogs or more of a read the content and know the person type blog?

Once upon a time I wrote about my life, my semi-obsession with health and fitness, and school.  I had a different boyfriend, I was in grad school and I didn’t eat meat.  That was years ago.  Somewhere along the way, that stopped.

Nowadays, I don’t really tell you about things like wine and painting with my sister and my friend.

I don’t usually talk about the fact that last week I signed up for 24 Hour Fitness and was stared at for being the sweatiest person in the room.  I firmly believe if you still look cute after your workout you weren’t working hard enough.  True Story.

Or that I went to the Artisan Food and Arts Festival with my sister, brother-in-law, and this guy, who I have yet to give a blog nickname (not that I can’t just call him by his name, Jesse, like I do in real life):

and ate some amazing food from Kogi.

Recently, my blog has been all about the fatty and delicious recipes that are more fun to write about and photograph than sharing the healthy meals I try to consume on a regular basis, but sometimes I miss documenting the healthy, tasty things I make.

So lately, it’s been a lot of recipes like this

Because chocolate and peanut butter are winners, and because sometimes I like reading blogs just for the recipes.

Double Chocolate Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

inspired by Epicurious

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar + more for rolling
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup oats

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl combine butter, peanut butter, sugar and egg.  Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt, and stir until just combined.  The dough will be pretty dry.  Add chocolate chips and oats and knead it all together until combined.  Form dough into about 30 tbsp sized balls, roll in sugar and lay onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.  Press dough down to flatten.  Bake about 8 minutes or until the edges are cooked but the center is still soft.

They key to these is to make sure they’re not over-baked.  If they’re over-baked, they’ll be hard and dry.  If slightly under-baked, they’ll be chewy and rich.  In other words, delicious.

Delicious is right, and I hope my blog stays that way, but it might go in a different direction too.  So maybe my blog will have to be both.  A little bit of Karla and a lot of food.  All mixed together.

Let’s just hope that as I approach my 400th post, I don’t decide to share 400 things about myself like I did on the 100th…

What do you think?