Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe-Joe's Cupcakes

News does not take a holiday.

That means that if you work in the news business, you're going to be working holidays. Christmas, New Years, Easter, 4th of July, Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, etc...you're going to be working most of, if not all, these days. After many years, you might get enough seniority to get one or two of those days off, but the fact of the matter is, you're going to be working while the rest of the world is enjoying a day off.

But we all know this going into the business, it isn't all bad. When I work a holiday, I always tried to make and take something in to celebrate. Over the past couple of years or so I've been working on making up my own recipes or tweaking recipes into something new. This year, I decided, for Christmas Eve, to take Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe-Joe's and make up a cupcake based on them.



Trader Joe's Joe-Joe's are sandwich cookies, similar to Oreos, but so much better. They come in different flavors: chocolate cookies with vanilla filling, vanilla with vanilla filling, and, during the holiday season, candy cane (chocolate cookies with vanilla filling that had crushed candy canes mixed in).

I began with my favorite chocolate cake recipe. It's a Wilton recipe called Chocolate Fudge Groom's Cake. I made a couple of small changes to the recipe, it calls for 3 oz unsweetened chocolate. I used 2 oz of unsweetened chocolate and 1 oz of Trader Joe's Peppermint Hot Chocolate mix.





The recipe calls for 1 1/2 cup of milk, I heated the milk, mixed in the 1 oz of hot chocolate mix and let it cool to room temperature.



This gave the cake a very subtle peppermint flavor, but it was still chocolaty and moist.

For the icing, I made the usual buttercream icing I always make, I learned it from my Wilton cake class. I double the recipe because I have a fear of running out of icing.
~ Cream 2 sticks of unsalted butter and 1 stick of unflavored Crisco shortening
~ Slowly add 2 lbs of powdered sugar
~ Add a small amount of milk until the icing is the consistency you want

For this icing, I crushed 24 Candy Cane Joe-Joes cookies.



This could be done in a food processor, but I like putting them in a big Ziploc back and using a marble rolling pin to crush them by hand. I like the texture that comes with the varying sizes of the cookie pieces.

After creaming the butter and Crisco, I added the crushed cookies before adding the powdered sugar.



The icing was flavorful and rich! The cupcakes, overall, are very good! A moist cake, rich icing, and I was worried that it might be overpowering, too peppermint-y, but the flavor was just right.

Because of the different sizes of cookie pieces in the icing, I didn't get fancy with the decorating, there was just no use trying to squeeze this icing through a decorator tip. I used an off-set spatula and placed a mound of icing in the middle of the cupcake. Then I smoothed the sides and the top before sticking a Joe-Joe in the top.

Baking With Stonewall Kitchen

Stonewall Kitchen is a wonderful company known for their amazing jams, sauces and chutneys. I'll be honest with you, the prices of their products do tend to run a bit high, but the flavor makes it worth every penny.

Last weekend, I was at National Harbor where I was delighted to find a Stonewall Kitchen store. My cousin had never been in one of their stores, so I dragged her in and introduced her to the amazing flavors. As usual, they had several items set out to sample and my two favorites were Caramel Apple Butter and Raspberry Liqueur Hot Fudge Sauce.

Being who I am, I had to come up with something to bake with these. The first thought was thumbprint cookies. They're easy and delicious. But I didn't want to that with both sauces. So I got on Stonewall Kitchen's website and looked through their recipes for inspiration.

I decided to take their recipe for Black Raspberry-Filled Sugar Cookies and tweaked it for use with the Caramel Apple Butter and their recipe for Thumbprint Jam Cookies and used the Raspberry Liqueur Hot Fudge Sauce.

Caramel Apple Butter Filled Sugar Cookies




I cheated a little with the sugar cookies, I had premade refrigerated dough

that I rolled out and cut into 3" circles.

I laid the circles on the baking sheet and spooned just under a teaspoon of the apple butter into the center of each circle.


Then I put another circle of dough on top, crimped the edges with a fork and poked holes in the center. I sprinkled cinnamon sugar on top and popped them in the oven.


These cookies are amazing, probably the best I've made in a long time! The cookies were crisp and tasted like little apple pies. I can't wait to make them again.



Raspberry Liqueur Hot Fudge Sauce Thumbprint Cookies



The recipe I used from Stonewall Kitchen's website was like a shortbread cookie made with finely chopped walnuts. After making the dough and refrigerating it for an hour, I rolled the it into 1 inch sized balls. I then used a 1/4 teaspoon and pressed a "thumbprint" into each cookie.


I didn't really measure how much hot fudge sauce I put in the indentation, it wasn't more than a 1/4 teaspoon.


A couple of the cookies I overloaded and the sauce spilled over the edge in the oven. They looked messy, but tasted great. They made for good test cookies.


Both of these cookies tasted great and were very easy to make. There was also plenty of left over apple butter and hot fudge sauce to come up with new uses for. And every chance I get to visit a Stonewall Kitchen, I will and I'll come up with new, delicious ways to use their products.

Easy Trader Joe's Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes

I've already shared with you my love of Trader Joe's. Every time I enter one, I find something new.

I spent Thanksgiving with my brother and his family in Illinois and, of course, we took a trip to Trader Joe's. My brother proceeded to follow me around the store telling me I need to buy Trader Joe's brand of Chocolate Frosting mix. I really didn't want to because no matter what I make, I always make my frosting from scratch, it's easy and it tastes better than any store bought kind. But after having my brother follow me down three aisles, telling me how awesome this frosting was, I broke down and bought it. I also found a jar of Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it, but I felt the need to buy it.

I had to go in to work on a Sunday evening, so I decided to bake something to take in with me. I didn't feel like going all out and getting all fancy, so I started with yellow cupcakes from a mix. I was out of vegetable oil, but I did find cinnamon applesauce in the fridge. Just let me say, that from now on, whenever I make a cake from a mix, I am using cinnamon applesauce. It adds a subtle cinnamon flavor that just deepens the flavor of the cake. So good!

I quickly whipped up the Trader Joe's Frosting mix. All it called for was 1 stick (4oz) of softened butter and enough hot water, added 1 tablespoon at a time, to get the right consistency.

I have to admit, the frosting was very good. Creamy and chocolaty, a great consistency. It won't replace my chocolate buttercream, but definitely something I'll use again.

I microwaved the caramel sauce for about twenty seconds (I stirred it after 10 seconds) so that it was thin enough to spread easily.

I spread a little bit of frosting on each cupcake, then used my Wilton #18 tip to pipe a ruffled edge, and then spread about a teaspoon of caramel sauce on top.

These cupcakes worked up very quickly and were so delicious!

I'm planning on going to a Trader Joe's again this coming weekend. I'll be sure to look around for something new to bake.

Beautiful (and easy) Christmas Stockings

Last year I was pretty proud of myself. I made almost $300 selling crafts I had made. Of course, that money didn't last long, but it helped me pay for Christmas gifts. I have always been a hobby crafter, I've made things for myself, for family and friends, but I had never sold anything I had made.

I took part in a small craft fair where I didn't sell anything, but I took a couple of special orders. Then I started making Christmas stockings.

It started when I made Christmas stockings for my niece and nephew who were coming to visit from Illinois. I was so proud of them that I took pictures and posted them on Facebook. A coworker saw them and asked me to make 7 stockings for her. Yup, 7.


She was hosting Christmas that year and need stockings for everyone who was coming (including a Jewish friend).

It's a good thing I love fabric. I spent hours scouring websites and giving her options until I got an idea of just what she was looking for. Then I took the pattern I had found to make my niece and nephew's stockings and hunkered down to sew.

I was very proud of how those stockings turned out and, again, I posted pictures on Facebook. One of my cousins (I have several...hundred. Not really, but it feels like it) saw the stockings and asked if I could make some for his kids. Of course I could. So this year, I made four more stockings.

Sounds like a lot of work? Not really.

Like I said, I love fabric and I love shopping for it. My favorite, relatively local, place I go is Hayloft Fabrics. I don't go there often since it's about an hour drive away, but when I do, I stock up. It's on the second floor of a grocery store, has an amazing selection, and the prices can't be beat.

I also shop at Hancock Fabrics and Jo-Ann. They're both much closer.

Online I like perusing The Fat Quarter Shop and Hancock's of Paducah. So, when I am asked to make something from fabric, I spend way too much time looking at and buying fabric. It's like an addiction.

Now, let's talk pattern. Have I ever told you about Moda Bake Shop? No? Well, sit back and allow me to explain. Moda is a wonderful brand of beautiful fabric. They sell pre-cut fabric for quilting that is named after baked goods (ie: Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes, Honey Buns, etc...) and so these wonderful people at Moda created a website for patterns that use their pre-cut fabric and called it "Moda Bake Shop".

I have gotten so many wonderful ideas and patterns from Moda Bake Shop. They are constantly updating it and I just have fun reading through the patterns.

Last year, I came across the His and Her Scrappy Christmas Stockings. They were perfect for what I wanted. Just simple, old fashioned stockings. And easy to make.

I only made one stocking using a Jelly Roll and following all the directions. Otherwise, I just followed the steps from #5 on.

I made it even simpler by using this stocking template. The pattern on Moda Bake Shop called for taking their template to a copy shop and blowing it up. I just didn't have the time for that. The great thing about this template is that you print it on four different pieces of paper and tape it together for the perfectly sized stocking.

My cousin asked me to pick fabrics that could grow with his kids.


I laid the fabric out to measure and cut and was immediately assisted by my four-legged assistant.


Then, using the stocking template, I cut out the front and back of the stockings, as well as the lining.


Again, with help I didn't need or ask for.


Using the measurements in the pattern on Moda's website, I cutout the fabric for the cuff and loop to hang the stocking.


Since cutting and measuring is the most time consuming part of the project, piecing and sewing the stockings together are very quick and easy. The best part is that they're big enough to hold plenty of loot from Santa!

I Am Not A Recipe Snob (aka: Making Chocolate Cakesters)

I love baking. Everyone who knows me, knows this. My favorite part of baking is the challenge, I really enjoy making up new recipes or finding a difficult one and making it work.

Because of that, people tend to think I'm a recipe snob, that I don't make things from a mix or using mixes. That is not true. Sometimes the simplest recipes are the most delicious.

I mentioned last week on Facebook that I was starting my holiday baking. One of my cousins mentioned she was doing the same and listed some of the cookies she made. One of which was Chocolate Cakesters. Curious, I asked her for the recipe.

It couldn't be simpler, or more delicious.



For the Cookies:
2 (18.25 oz) Boxes Devil's Food cake mix
1 Cup Shortening
4 Eggs

For the Filling:
8oz Cream Cheese, Room Temp
1 tsp Vanilla
1 cup butter, Room Temp
1 lb (approx 4 cups) powdered sugar, sifted

Cookies:

~Preheat the oven to 350.

~Mix together the cake mixes, shortening, and eggs



~Roll the dough into small balls, about quarter sized. My cousin recommended flattening them slightly, which I did.



~She also recommended baking the cookies for 5-6 minutes, I baked them a little longer (it depends on the oven) to about 8 minutes.

~Let cookies cool on racks





Filling:



~Blend together the butter and cream cheese.

~Add Vanilla.

~Add powdered sugar, a little at a time, until well blended.


Assemble:



~Spread a bit of icing on the flat bottom of one cookie, lay another on top to create a sandwich.

~Roll the edge in sprinkles (optional, but fun)

See! Quick, easy recipes can be just as delicious as challenging recipes!

Holiday Baking 2010 Part 1: Cinnamon Star Cookies That Aren't Stars

I love Christmas Cookie baking.


Around about the beginning of November I start going through the Holiday magazines that are out and I search the Internet (primarily Martha Stewart and Food Network websites).

There are certain cookies I do every year: Peanut Blossoms, Peanut Butter Cup cookies (peanut butter cookie dough rolled into a ball and dropped into a mini muffin tin, take a mini peanut butter cup and press it into the dough and then bake 350 degrees 10-12 minutes), and snowball cookies. Then I pick a couple of new recipes to try out every year.

This year I got out the cookie gun again and decided to make Spritz Cookies. I found another recipe of potato chip spritz cookies that sounded good, but I had a problem with the dough in the cookie gun. It just oozed out of the disc and didn't hold the shape. I tried refrigerating the dough, but it didn't help. I think the potato chips made the dough too greasy. So, I rolled the dough into 1 inch balls and then flattened them a bit and baked them at 350 for 8 minutes. They were surprisingly good, like shortbread with a salty/sweet flavor.

Another recipe I found and decided to try is called Cinnamon Stars: Zimtsterne. They only have 5 ingredients and looked like something totally new and delicious.

This is what they're supposed to look like:


I followed the directions.

I ground the almonds, powdered sugar, and cinnamon together in the food processor:


I whipped the egg whites, added the powdered sugar, whipped them some more and then folded in the almond mixture and the lemon zest:


Then I turned the dough over onto parchment paper sprinkled with powdered sugar:


The next step was to roll the dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut out using a 3 inch star cookie cutter. That's where it went wrong. The dough was too soft and wouldn't hold the shape and it was impossible to lift off the parchment paper. It just didn't work.

But I wasn't giving up. Instead, I rolled the dough into a ball and flattened them slightly. Then I followed the rest of the recipe, spreading a small amount of the meringue on top and decorated with the sliced almonds:


I baked them at 250 for 30 minutes and then turned off the heat and opened the oven doors and allowed them to dry out.


I LOVE these cookies! Even if they aren't star shaped, they taste awesome and look pretty. The almonds and cinnamon are so delicious and the meringue makes these cookies light.

Regardless of the shape, I recommend making these cookies!