Peanut Butter & White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Orange Zest

This was my first attempt at making peanut butter cookies.  I adapted the recipe from here, but as always, tweaked the recipe quite a bit.  I made it into a peanut butter and white chocolate cookie with an orange twist.

The recipe was easy, but I found that I needed to add at least a cup of milk to the dough to get it to the right consistency.  The cookies turned out a little bit dense, but on storing them overnight, a lot of the moistness returned.  Anyone that likes peanut butter cookies would really enjoy these, but I think I might move on to different cookies the next time around.

You will need:
3/4 cup (170 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1/2 cup (105 grams) light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup (185 grams) peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
• 2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped peanuts or 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (optional)
• 1 teaspoon orange zest (optional)
• 1 cup cold milk (if required)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F  and place rack in the centre of the oven. 
2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 2 - 3 minutes). You could use an electric mixer for this, but I used a hand mixer.
4. Beat in the peanut butter. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine. 
5. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. 
6. Add to the peanut butter mixture and beat until incorporated. Fold in the chopped peanuts if using, if using, the white chocolate chips and the orange zest. (If the batter is too dry at this point, add milk a few teaspoons at a time. Alternately, if the batter is too soft, keep in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before forming into balls.)
7. Roll the batter into 1 inch (2.5 cm) balls. 
8. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheet, placing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Then, using the tines of the fork that has been dipped in white granulated sugar, make a crisscross pattern.
9. Bake the cookies for about 10 to12 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges. 
10. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Can be stored at room temperature, in an airtight container, for about a week. Freeze for longer storage.

Makes about 40 cookies.

Red Velvet Cupcake

After my lazy version of the Chocolate Lava cake turned out to be a flop, I was looking for another recipe that had chocolate in it.  I will try the lava cake again and let you know how it turned out, but for now, here's something else.

I had Red Velvet cupcakes in mind for a while now as well, so I recently went and dug the recipe out from my archives (and yes, my archive for recipes to try is quite a large one, so stay tuned for future recipe posts).

I adapted the recipe from the original, which I almost always do (call it some kind of cheap pleasure at perpetually wanting to bend the culinary rules; mind you, I never break the law, though!).  I mostly used my own measurements for flour and butter as I normally use for my regular cupcakes, simply because I like their light and fluffy texture.  However, I found the Red Velvets a little bit on the heavier side, probably because of the buttermilk the recipe called for.

Please read on for my version of the recipe.  Not too many images this time, as I baked in the evening, and there wasn't much time to try out different setups.  I also wanted to try my hand at using artificial lighting for my food photography, and this was actually one of those exercises.  I don't have very high-end lighting equipment, but what I have right now will need to be tweaked a little further, so I can get some nice results.  An exercise for another occasion.

The Cupcake
Self-raising flour - 150 gms (5 oz)
Cocoa powder - 2 tbsp
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Unsalted butter, softened at room temperature - 1/4 cup
Granulated sugar - 150 gms (5 oz)
Buttermilk - 1/2 cup
Egg (large) - 1
Pure vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Red food coloring - a few drops

Low Fat Cream Cheese Frosting
Icing or confectioner's sugar - 1 cup
Low-fat cream cheese, softened at room temperature - 125 gms
Unsalted butter, softened at room temperature - 50 gms
Milk - 1 tbsp
Pure vanilla extract - 1 tsp

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees C. Line a muffin pan with cup cake liners and set aside. 
2. In a small bowl mix together the first 5 ingredients and set aside.  
3. In a separate bowl, cream together the sugar and butter, until light and fluffy.
4. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until well combined.
5. Add half of the dry ingredients and half of the buttermilk, making sure it's combined.
6. Add the remaining half of the dry ingredients and buttermilk; combine everything together but do not over mix.
7. Add enough food coloring to get the desired red color for your cupcakes.
8. Using a spatula mix the batter thoroughly making sure nothing is left on the sides of the bowl.
9. Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop the batter evenly into your prepared cupcake liners and bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick  inserted  in the center comes out clean.
10. Let the cupcakes cool completely before you frost them.
11. To make the frosting, simply put all the frosting ingredients into a bowl and mix well with an electric hand mixer.
12. Mix until well combined and the frosting has a thick-ish consistency.  You can adjust the consistency by adding a tablespoon of milk at a time if it's too thick, or adding a tablespoon of sugar at a time if it's too runny.
13. Frost the cupcakes either with a little spatula or use a piping bag fitted with a plain large tip.
14. Let cool in the fridge for about 10 to 15 minutes to allow them to set a little before serving (if you can resist them anyway)

Strawberry Cupcakes

Thanks to my son, now I have to bake my cupcakes and eat them too! :(  Not good, considering I shouldn't be consuming any more sugar than I already do.  I should have self control, you say?  Well, if you knew what kind of internal battles I fight every time I look at a sugary treat, you would know I'm trying really hard.

I got the idea of strawberry cupcakes because I found strawberries at unseasonably low prices at my neighbourhood grocery store.  And since I'd been promising to bake cupcakes for the past month, I thought I should just seize the opportunity and the berries and put them to good use.  

I recently indulged in some baking tools and this would be the best occasion to break out my neat little cupcake liners.  I love the pattern and thought they would be perfect for the pink delights. 

I'm not that great at piping, but thought I'd take the opportunity to just use the pastry tips the best I can.  Didn't turn out too bad in the end, did they?

Enjoy your cupcake with a glass of milk, or a cuppa tea or coffee! 

Here's the super-easy recipe!

The Cupcake

Self-rasing flour - 150 gms (5 oz)

Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - a couple of pinches

Granulated sugar - 150 gms (5 oz)

Butter (room temperature) - 150 gms (5oz)

Eggs, beaten (room temperature) - 3 (medium)

Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp

Strawberry essence - 1tsp

The Low-Fat Cream Cheese Frosting

Light cream cheese (room temperature) - 125 gms 

Butter - 100 gms

Confectioner's/icing sugar - 8 0z

Strawberry essence - 1 tsp

A few strawberries and other decorations for the topping

Method

The cupcake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 deg C.
2. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners, or grease it and keep aside.
3. Put the butter in a bowl and beat with an electric beater for a minute or so.  
4. Add the sugar (preferably sifted), a bit at a time and beat until light and fluffy.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
5. Add the vanilla essence and then slowly add the eggs; continue beating for another minute or so.  You might find the mixture curdling a bit, but don't worry, it's normal.
6. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in another bowl.
7. Add the dry ingredients to the wet.  Start on a low speed and gradually increase the speed till the mixture is light and fluffy again.
8. Fill the cupcake pans halfway to the top with the batter.
9. Bake for about 18 - 23 mins.  You will need to check the cupcakes at the 18 min. mark so see if a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.  If you see a few wet crumbs, leave them in for a couple of mins. and check again.  Baking them too long can make them chewy and dense.
10. Once the cupcakes are done, let stand for a couple of minutes and them remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

The frosting

1. In a bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese till fluffy.
2. Slowly add the sugar and strawberry essence.  
3. Add the cream, if using.
4. Beat on high for 3 - 4 mins. till light and fluffy. The mixture should form firm peaks.
5. If the mixture looks too runny, add more sugar; if it looks too thick, add a teaspoon full of cream at a time to bring it to piping consistency.
6. Use a piping bag to pipe the frosting on to completely cooled cupcakes, or use a knife to slather on the frosting. 
7. Top with fresh strawberries or other decorations.

Chef's tip: I prefer to keep it low in fat and sugar, but you are very welcome to use the full fat cream cheese and sweeten it to your taste as well.  The original recipe called for 2 cups of sugar, but I used only a cup (8oz).  Additionally, I omitted the cream.  If you use 2 cups of sugar, you will definitely need some cold whipping cream to thin the frosting down a bit and add some fluffiness.  Cream makes it lighter on the palette, but it's far from lighter on the system, if you know what I mean!

And by the way, keep a look out for my Chocolate Lava Cake recipe to come in the next couple of weeks, if not sooner. :)  

Day 200 - Macro Week Complete and I'm on Day 200! Yay!

Today was a day of changed plans - thanks to the horrid weather we have been having since late last night.  The forecast called for a bit of early morning snow, so I got all excited and set the alarm for sunrise.  But, the winds started up late last night - howling and gusting at almost 80 kmph!  I barely slept for the storm raging outside and when I woke up to the alarm I only saw sheets of rain and snow being blown around.  I couldn't possibly go out in that.  So, I didn't even do my grocery shopping today, and neither did I go out for an evening photo shoot as I'd planned.

My first lot of shots this morning didn't turn out great at all.  Then as I was baking some muffins this evening, I decided to turn my camera on those.

The pictures were taken under fluorescent lighting, so I did it on CWB.  I shoot mostly in RAW but still like to adjust the WB in-camera because I prefer to spend less time trying to fix that in post.  Although I'm using Lightroom 3 now, and it's a breeze fixing images, I still prefer to fix my WB in-camera.  Of course, there is no great WB fix for fluorescent lighting, but I find the light in the images a lot improved, as opposed to the green cast it always takes on when shooting in this kind of light situation.

And if you're wondering what muffins these are - hold tight, it's a loooong name - Banana-Blueberry-Chocolate Chip-Pecan Muffin.  These are deliciously fluffy and moist!

I've improved the recipe over time, and I'm as much an experimental cook as I am an experimental photographer.  If you want the recipe for the photos, find them below:

90 mm, f/32, 25s, ISO 100, Custom WB, Aperture Priority

90 mm, f/22, 13s, ISO 100, Custom WB, Aperture Priority

Now, if you are hungry from just saying the name, and want the recipe for the muffins, here it is! :o)

Recipe for Banana-Blueberry-Chocolate Chip-Pecan Muffin

• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• couple of handfuls of chopped nuts ( I use walnuts or pecans, depending on what's available on hand)
• couple of handfuls of fresh or frozen blueberries
• handful of chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, beaten egg and melted butter.
3. Sift the flour, salt, sugar and baking soda.
4. Stir into the banana mixture until well blended.
5. Stir in nuts, blueberries and chocolate chips.
6. Line a muffin pan with paper cups and spoon in the mixture up to 2/3 full. 
7. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
8. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.  
9. Or, if you're like me and can't wait to dig in, drop a blob of butter on top of a warm, freshly baked muffin and enjoy!

Mmmm  mmmmuffins!!  Isn't that delicious!!!  And you will just not go wrong with this recipe ... trust me! 

Day 199 - Macro Week - Rum Cake

A colleague brought in some rum cake that he had baked.  Being German, he's a fantastic baker, and this cake was fluffy and really moist as well.  We had pieces of this towards the end of the day, so it was a really great way to cap off the work week.

Fortunately, I had my camera with me today as I'd intended to go out during the lunch hour and do some texture photography.  But that didn't come to pass and I was getting a little restive about what to photograph today.  The opportunity to take a shot of the cake was too great to pass up and so I took a big bite off it, and got to work.  :)

I can't say the composition is the greatest, because I became a little conscious of my colleagues watching me as I took the shots.

90 mm, f/3.2, 1/15s, ISO 200, Aperture Priority, Custom WB