Food: Susan Shortbread Cookies

So, I had been eyeing a version of these cookies at Vons for approximately way too many months now and I finally had an excuse to spend the $6 for a Christmas celebration and they were as tasty as I expected. Like with most new found loves I tend to go bit overboard with cravings so I decided to attempt my own version for our office cookie exchange. These didn't come out exactly like the other version but they definitely have the not-too-sweet yet chocolately taste I can't get enough of.


Susan Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients
*1 1/2 c. packaged biscuit mix
*2 (3 4/8 or 3 3/4 oz.) pkgs. instant vanilla pudding mix
*1 egg
*1/4 c. butter or margarine, melted
*¾ c. hot fudge
*½ c. Pillsbury (or other) chocolate fudge frosting

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine biscuit and pudding mixes. Add egg and butter; mix well. (I suggested putting hands to good use on this one)

Roll into 1 inch balls of dough, place on cookie sheet and lightly flatten each cookie.



Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes until the sides of cookies start to firm up (be careful not to burn these ones) Let cool.



Combine hot fudge and frosting in small bowl and dollop on top of each cookie. If desired, freeze for 30 minutes to set frosting.



Enjoy!

Food: Cream Cheese Fudge

Obviously, by my choice in baking endeavors I'm a huge sucker for cream cheese and chocolate so when I saw this recipe I knew it'd be in my near future. I have to say though that this may very well be one of those "too much of a good thing" situations. This fudge is ok but definitely a far cry from any traditional fudge I've had. I feel like there needed to be more balance to the sweetness (nuts maybe). I attempted cutting the sugar and using semi-sweet chocolate but I'd recommend going with the original recipe. One thing is for sure, a little bit goes a loooooong way because this stuff is RICH. Also, if you look at the ingredients this sounds more like a frosting than a stand along treat and that is definitely a great way to go.


Cream Cheese Fudge
Recipe Courtesy of Stater Bros. powedered Sugar :)

Ingredients
*6 oz. cream cheese, softened
*4 oz. squares unsweetened chocolate
*4 c. confectioner's sugar
*1/2 tsp. vanilla
*dash of salt

Directions
Cream cream cheese in bowl until smooth. Slowly blend in powdered sugar and salt.

Melt chocolate in microwave safe bowl and fold into cream cheese mixture. Add vanilla.



Pour into 13x9 pan and spread out to desired thickness.

Refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes. Cut into [small] squares.



Enjoy

Food: Petite Nutella Pochettes

These fancy looking little crescents are surprisingly easy to make. They taste like a Mexican wedding cake filled with Nutella and are quite delicious. I reduced the flour and replaced it with confectioner's sugar to add more sweetness to the dough, it was definitely a good choice.



Petite Nutella Pochettes
Original recipe courtesy of Melissa D'Arabian

Ingredients
*1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
*8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
*1 cups flour
*1 and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
*1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Nutella
*Water, as needed
*3 in fluted biscuit cutter or clean jar (approximately 3 inches wide)

Directions
In a medium bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese together until light and creamy. Gradually add the flour and 1 cup confectioner's sugar slowly until the dough forms. Do not over-mix! Shape the dough into a ball and cover. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

On a lightly-floured surface, using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch fluted biscuit cutter, cut out as many circles as you can. Form the scraps into a ball and reroll to make more circles.



Fill each dough circle with a small spoonful of the chocolate-hazelnut spread. Dip your finger in water and spread on the edge of half the circle to help create a seal. Fold the dough over to create a crescent.





Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool, then sprinkle the remaining confectioners' sugar on top and serve.



Enjoy!

Food: Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Brownies

Awhile back I bought a bunch of brownie mix on sale for like $.69. It's been sitting just waiting to be used so I decided to take it out and create a simple recipe that was a little more than just brownie. I amped up the mix by using butter and milk instead of oil and water and added the always delicious cream filling from the black bottom cupcakes I love to make. This recipe is super easy, looks great, and tastes awesome.



Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Brownies
By Desiree Roughton

For the cream cheese filling:

* 1 block (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
* 1/3 c. sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 c. chocolate chips
* 1/8 tsp. (two shakes) of salt

For the brownie batter:

* 1 box brownie mix
* 1 stick melted margarine (or butter)
* 2 eggs
* 1/4 c. milk (any type you have)

Note: Different mixes may call for different amounts. Replace oil with margarine, water with milk, and use the suggested amount of eggs.

Directions:

Preheat over to 350. Grease bottom of 13 x 9 pan.

Cream together cream cheese, 1 egg, sugar, and salt. Fold in chocolate chips. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together brownie mix, 2 eggs, melted margarine, and milk until smooth.

Pour brownie mix evenly into pan. Pour or spoon cream cheese mixer over the top.

Run a spoon or spatula in an "S" shape along entire pan, swirling the cream cheese mixture and brownie mix together. Aprox. 10-15 times will give a nice mix.



Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

Let cool, ENJOY!

Food: Chili's Loaded Nachos

I am totally obsessed with Chili's loaded nachos. They are delicious and meaty and AMAZING. I decided I'd give it a go and attempt to create my own version of the tasty appetizer for a meal. The experiment was a great success...mmmmm.




Chili's Loaded Nachos
Recipe by Desiree Roughton

* 4 lg. flour tortillas (I used jalapeno, cilantro flavored)
* 1 lb. ground beef
* 1 packet taco seasoning
* 2 c. shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
* 1 c. sour cream
* 2-4 green onions, finely chopped
* jalapenos (with juice)
optional:
* lime, cilantro, tomatoes, etc.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place tortillas on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. The tortillas should be slightly brown but still soft.

Brown ground beef in large skillet and add taco seasoning as directed.

Top each tortilla with equal amounts of taco meat (this seems like a lot and it is! Hey, they aren't called loaded for nothing).

Cover with grated cheese (I used almost the whole bag) and bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted, approximately 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix 1 c. sour creme with a tablespoon (or more) jalapeno juice, add a spritz of lime if desired.

Top each tortilla with jalapenos, green onions, and cilantro, tomatoes, etc. as desired. Drizzle with jalapeno sour cream.

Use a pizza cutter to cut each round into 6 slices.

ENJOY!





that's not my manhand btw :)

Food: Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

I'm finally settled into my summer schedule, including a new internship and a couple of online classes. I think I mentioned before that my new internship allows me to see screenings of virtually every movie before they come out in theaters (YAY!) for free (YAAAAAAY!!!), so I've been checking out 2-3 movies during the week and exhausting all my theater going options for the weekend. Now I have 3 days free to devote to my other passion: food. I've got quite a few recipes to share with you within the next week or so. First up, is a new cupcake (surprise surprise...I know). It's cookies and cream, which isn't my number one flavor choice but they came out really good and I thoroughly enjoyed.

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes
Remixed version of oreo cupcakes from Lovin' From the Oven. Cake recipe courtesy of Cupcakes From The Cake Doctor by Anne Byrn



Ingredients

* 1 package (18.25 oz) plain devil's cake mix
* 3 tablespoons Dutch process unsweetened cocoa
* 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 3 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 24 Oreos

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with 24 paper liners.

Remove top half of the Oreos and place one cookie, cream side up, in each liner. Crush remaining halves in Ziploc baggie, set aside.

Place the cake mix, cocoa powder, buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium beat two minutes more.




Fill the cupcake tins 2/3 full with batter. Bake until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 17-20 minutes.

Buttercream "Dream" Icing
Recipe courtesy of The Repressed Pastry Chef



Dream is quoted for a reason. This frosting is a bit annoying to make (check out the sugar to liquid ratio) and didn't taste good at first bite. However, after it set awhile and we frosted the cupcakes I did change my mind. It works well with the cookies and cream because it really tastes like the cream from an Oreo. Definitely not a frosting I'd run to for everything, but for these cupcakes it worked nicely in the end.

* 1 stick salted butter, room temp
* 1 stick unsalted butter, room temp
* 1 cup shortening
* 1 tbsp vanilla extract
* 2 pounds powdered sugar (about 3 1/2-4 cups)
* 4-6 tbsp cold milk

Cream butter and shortening. Add vanilla extract and combine well.

Begin slowly adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all the sugar has been added, begin adding the milk, one tablespoon at a time, combining very well after each addition with the mixer on medium-high to high speed until you reach the desired consistency.

Tip: If the mixture becomes too hard to mix before all the sugar is incorporated, start adding milk to thin it out, then continue adding the rest.

Frost cupcakes and sprinkle with crushed cookie crumbs.

ENJOY!

Food: Hamburger Cupcakes

As promised I'd like to share a fabulous summer treat perfect for the upcoming 4th of July weekend! I saw a picture of these while flipping through a magazine and was inspired to figure out how to make them at home. They turned out ridiculously cute and it screwed with a lot of my friend's minds. They come out looking like real mini slider burgers and are the perfect fun dessert for any picnic or your next bbq.

Hamburger Cupcakes
By Desiree Roughton

Ingredients:
*1 box store bought chocolate cake mix (prepare as directed)
*1 box store bought yellow cake mix (prepare as directed)
*1 can white frosting
*red, yellow, and green and food coloring
*8 oz. a bag of white chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Fill 24 muffin tins 2/3 with yellow cake mix and bake 20-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Set aside and let cool.

Fill 24 muffin tins 1/3 of the way full with chocolate cake batter. (You can use the rest of the batter for regular sized cupcakes if you wish.) Bake 15-20 minutes. Set aside and let cool.

Mix half a can of frosting with red food coloring until the frosting turns red (NOT PINK). Make the other half of the can bright yellow.

Melt the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl on high in 30 second increments until smooth. Fold in a few drops of green food coloring.

Allow the chocolate to re-harden as a small block in the refrigerator.

Assembly:

Cut each of the yellow cupcakes in half to create top and bottom "buns."

Lightly frost the bottom section with yellow frosting. Make sure there is enough frosting on the outer edges to slightly spill over.

Top with thin chocolate cupcake. (Depending on how the cakes bake up you may need to shave off the curved top for easier assembly and aesthetics.)

Lightly frost the "patty" with the red frosting, allowing spill over again.

Use a spoon or knife to create green shavings from the white chocolate. Sprinkle on the outer edges of your red frosting layer. This will look like lettuce.

Top with yellow cupcake top.

Enjoy!



sorry about the terrible picture quality. I tend to misplace things like my digital camera...a lot, so I had to use my cell phone.

Food: Farmer's Market Salsa

I spent last weekend back home in Riverside. I've been wanting to check out the wonderful and trendy world of Farmer's Markets for quite some time, so when my mom and I headed downtown to pick up some produce I was pretty stoked. We picked up 6 or 7 ripe tomatoes (only $1 a pound), an interesting hybrid of green onion and garlic (apparently called green garlic), fresh cilantro, and an avocado (it was bruised so it only cost us $.50) to make homemade salsa.


She recently got a new gadget from Pamered Chef called the salad chopper. It's basically a deadly weapon looking pair of double blade scissors that can chop your ingredients right in the bowl.

Photo courtesy of PamperedChef.com

We threw the tomatoes (simply cut in half), cilantro, green garlic, lime juice, canned jalapenos, and salt into a bowl and got chopping. As you can see it came out looking pretty good and tastes awesome. I apologize for the lack of pictures throughout the process, I think I got a little trigger happy with the choppers and lost focus :)


I have been convinced of the awesomeness of Farmer's Markets and may just get addicted. You can really find some great deals if you have uses for the produce right now, a lot of the vendors lower their prices to move their overabundance of ripe merchandise, which works for the consumer. Plus the regular priced produce is the best quality you can find.

Enjoy!

Food: Argentinean Cuisine

This spring break I took a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina to study business in South America. The program was the first of it's kind for San Diego State and was a great success. Of course, me being me, I was super stoked about the food I'd find a whole hemisphere away and I was definitely not disappointed. Luckily, thanks to my new friend Amanda who forced us to wait to devour our grub until she took pictures of our food I have some good ones to share with you.

Meat
Argentina is all about their beef. In our 10 day trip I literally ate about 10 steaks. You can get a delicious piece of meat, potatoes, and wine for the equivalent of about 15 US dollars, so it was just too good of a deal to pass up.



On our last night we went to a buffet style restaurant that served us up steak, sausage, chicken, brisket, and a huge salad bar. We sat around drinking wine and enjoying all the Argentinean meat we could fit in for our last meal.



Most meat in Argentina is served with a bunch of sauces. The most popular is a chimichurri which is made with a lot of garlic and a ton of other spices. Rubio's has a pretty good chimichurri that you can try in the states or you can try making your own.



Wine
Wine is one of Argentina's biggest exports. The country drinks a ton of it and you can grab a good bottle anywhere. I'm not a big fan of red wine and I like my light and fruity wine coolers so when I tried Clerico I was one happy camper. It's made with fresh fruit, sugar and white wine, and would be a great summer refresher.

Empanandas
Another popular Argentinean food is empanadas. The country has a lot of influence from Spanish and Italian immigrants who are the foundation to the culture. Empandas are made in the classic seasoned beef and chicken, and also offered with ham and cheese, and even a caprese version. There were delicious, flaky, hot and crispy.



Dessert
There is no way to document my food experience and leave out dessert. Dulce de leche is EVERYWHERE in Argentina and made for a delicious soft serve ice cream from, surprisingly the local Burger King, an amazing crepe, and soft cookie sandwiches called alfajores. I was most surprised by a candied pear we were served. I'm not a big pear person and I really don't like cooked fruit but it was crisp and sweet.




I also have a thing about eating McDonald's in other countries, its weird especially since I virtually never eat it here but whatever. I like to visit them and compare the menu items and layouts and stuff. Plus after eating SO much beef I was super thankful for my chicken nuggets and salsa barbacoa (aka bar-b-que sauce). It looks the same as it does in the states but tasted way better :)



Hopefully you've been inspired to look up a couple of Argentinean recipes, or check google for a local Argentinean restaurant. The cuisine offers a great fusion of flavors and cultures and doesn't make anything that's too scary to try.
Enjoy!

Food: Black Bottom Cupcakes

I'm doing a market research project in school for a bakery idea I have and one of my team members has been nagging me to bring in some "samples he can try." I finally had time to whip something up this weekend. These cupcakes are delicious, made completely from scratch, and surprisingly quick and easy to make. The original recipe calls for mini chocolate chips, but I like how the regular size stands up and gets a little melty. Also, make sure to add plenty of the creme cheese mixture to each cupcake, it's a bit more than what I consider a dollop. Enjoy!



Black Bottom Cupcakes
Recipe courtesy of Lovin From the Oven via AllRecipes.com and slightly revamped by me

Ingredients:
* 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
* 1 egg
* 1/3 cup white sugar
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup water
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line muffin tins with paper cups or lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt until light and fluffy. Stir in the chocolate chips and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, 1 cup sugar, cocoa, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Make a well in the center and add the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Stir together until well blended. Fill muffin tins 1/3 full with the batter and top with a dollop of the cream cheese mixture.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Food: Red Velvet Cake

By now you've probably noticed how much of an opportunist I am when it comes to making holiday inspired baked goods, but things got a little crazy this St. Paddy's and I don't have time to bake any treats so I thought I'd take it back a couple months and share a cake recipe for everyone's new fav, red velvet.

My boyfriend and I had been talking about making a cake completely from scratch and we finally decided to hash out a red velvet cake. I wasn't entirely pleased with the actual cake (it was very dense and didn't have much flavor) but the frosting was TO DIE FOR. You should definitely make a double batch as suggested in the recipe. The other half a bath was delicious on strawberries and a pan of boxed brownies I made the next week.

We searched 3 different stores to find a bottle of red food coloring so we could avid the expense of buying to multi-color packs we didn't need. We found a huge bottle at Smart and Final for a few bucks which was great. They also carry huge packs of jell-o and the perfect size plastic condiment cups and lids to make jell-o shots or kid-friendly jigglers. This was also our first basic cake decorating attempt. I used a new pastry bag and tip set I got for $5 at Ikea and it worked pretty well

Red Velvet Cake
Recipe courtesy of Johnnie Gabriel

Ingredients:
For the Red Velvet Cake:

* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon cocoa
* 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 1/2 cups canola oil
* 1 teaspoon vinegar
* 1 (1-ounce) bottle red food coloring
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 cup buttermilk

For the cream cheese frosting:

* 1/2 cup margarine
* 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
* 1 box confectioners' sugar, sifted
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
For the Red Velvet Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) round layer cake pans.

Sift flour, baking soda and coco together. Beat sugar and eggs together in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl mix together oil, vinegar, food coloring, and vanilla. Add to the bowl of eggs and sugar and beat until combined.

Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the wet mixture by alternating the buttermilk and dry ingredients. Always start with the flour and end with the flour.

Pour batter into pans. Tap them on the table to level out the batter and release air bubbles. Bake for 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted near the middle comes out clean but be careful not to over bake or you'll end up with a dry cake.

Let layers cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before turning out of pan. Cool completely before frosting.

For the cream cheese frosting:

This is the "official" cream cheese frosting recipe but we always use about 1 1/2 recipes on each cake to cover it well.

Let margarine and cream cheese soften to room temperature. Cream well. Add sugar and beat until mixed but not so much that the frosting becomes "loose". Add vanilla. Spread between layers and on top and sides of cake.

Enjoy!

Food: Box of Chocolates Mini Cupcakes

I know a lot of people out there have major hate for Valentine's Day, but I've always loved it, in a relationship or not. The candy, the colors, the little hearts, I'm a sucker. Plus I love doing Valentinesy stuff for my friends who don't enjoy singledom as much as they should. This year I was inspired by one of the ideas in the Hello, Cupcake! book I got for Christmas for mini cupcakes that look like truffles. The shirt box full went into the office and the small boxes are going to some friends and of course my boyfriend.

This was also my first chance to use my mini electric cupcake maker, which is awesome! The cupcakes cooked up in 7 min, cleanup was easy, and the kitchen didn't get scorching hot because the oven was on.

Box of Chocolate Mini Cupcakes
by Desiree Roughton

Ingredients:
Mini Cupcakes:
*1 box store bought cake mix (any favor) prepared according to package
 (I used the $.69 store brand from Fresh and Easy)

Ganache Frosting:
*16oz. milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips
*2 c. heavy creme

Decorations and wrapping:

What you could use:
*sprinkles
*colored sugar
*chocolate colored mini marshmallows
*melted white chocolate
*candy boxes
*anything else to make your cupcakes look like fun or gourmet chocolates

What I got:
*pink shirt box - Target - $1.50 (on-sale)
*dot sprinkles - $1 - (seasonal)
*pink and purple colored sugar sprinkles - $1 each (seasonal)
*mini cupcake liners - Wal-Mart - $2 (seasonal)
*small heart shaped boxes - $.99 - 99 Cent Only Store
*melted white chocolate chips (pantry raid)

*NOTE: this makes a lot of ganache but you might as well utilize all the chocolate and creme that comes in those predetermined sizes. This will give you a generous amount to glaze your cupcakes and leave some extra to make quick truffles or top ice cream or other desserts. You can also slowly reheat ganache after its been refrigerated.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Fill mini cupcake tins 2/3 full with cake batter (You want to fill them enough so that the tops will bake above the liners.)

Bake for 8-12 minutes, watching closely. (Smaller cupcakes burn more easily!)

Let cool and set aside.

For the ganache:

Pour chocolate chips in mixing bowl, set aside.

Bring creme to a boil. (Make sure to keep an eye on it!)

Pour hot creme over chocolate and let sit 30-60 seconds. Stir thoroughly with wisk until smooth and shiny. (At first it may seem like the creme and chocolate are not mixing well, keep going and they'll start to come together.)

Dip cupcake tops into glaze.

Decorate as you please. This can be time consuming but is what makes these little treats so special!

Tip: Use a toothpick dipped in water or a little bit of oil to pick up and place sprinkle shapes.

Enjoy!