Starbucks Cake Pops

Thesis countdown: four days! It's finally inching up to the big day! What's a good thesis without tasty refreshments? Let me assure you, readers, I've picked out the cutest post-defense treats for all my guests.

The menu:
    Pink Lemonade
    Grapes
    Starbucks Cake Pops

 photo from here

 Jesse and my dad even made me a custom cake pop stand! Photos to come after the defense. I got a vintage 7-Up crate that all the drinks and food fit into perfectly. My mum isn't sure what I'm more excited about: cake pops or the actual defense.

 Custom cake pop stand made from a 1960s 7-Up soda box. Thanks Dad & Jesse!

Have you had the new petite pastries from Starbucks? They're all under 200 calories and perfect for parties and events (and thesis defenses, apparently). My cousin is using them at a baby shower she's planning, too. Here's an interview with the man who created the recipe and concept for Starbucks' three cake pop flavors from the Starbucks official blog.

Cheesecake

Happy birthday to my Daddy today! We started out with brunch at Painted Mountain Golf Resort with the whole family and then migrated back to my parents house for a Sunday full of board games (my favorite game, Apples to Apples) and birthday cake in the form of a homemade cheesecake.

My mum's cheesecake turned out beautiful! See the birthday candle? :)

Valentine's Day Desserts

I'm digging the pink & red love in all the stores and bakeries this week. Some of my favorite Valentines sweets from around the web this year:

X and O S'mores (internet exclusive from Williams-Sonoma). 

Each batch is made from scratch in San Francisco at Two Hearts Bakery.

Perfect surprise for a special someone who's far away this Valentines Day.

Heart shaped sprinkles: Yes please.

Buy them at shopbakersnook.com for just 99 cents!

Photo from here.

Get a tutorial and recipe from I Am Baker to make 

this hidden heart cake.

This Valentine's Party is full of love! Check out the dessert

bar behind the kids! :) See more pictures of this

party at Hostess with the Mostess.

What are your plans for Valentines Day? Jesse and I are celebrating a day early since we've got classes all day on Monday. 

Polka Dot Cheesecake

My mother scored a legitimate Italian cheesecake recipe from an Italian woman that's in her TOPS chapter. The coveted recipe is rich, creamy and delicious. However, I might have to cheat on that recipe and try this polka dot cheesecake on The Baker's Daughter. It's so prep cool and well, my style!

Photo from The Baker's Daughter

Christmas Shortbread Cookies

Passed down from my grandma, Christmas hasn't arrived until my family has baked a batch of these delish, buttery cookies. We love decorating them together, personalizing them for all our friends and family. After rolling them out and before cooking, we gather around the kitchen to add our personal touch to each cookie.

What are your family's holiday food traditions?

Pumpkin Recipes

I wish the window for cooking pumpkin was bigger! Trying to fit in all the yummy pumpkin recipes I've found across the web it tricky. Here's an on-going list of new pumpkin recipes to try!

photo from here 

Pumpkin Pancakes
Moroccan Pumpkin and Lentils
Pumpkin Party Mix
Pumpkin Bean Soup 
Pumpkin & Black Bean Soup
Gingered Pumpkin Soup
Iced Pumpkin Cookies
Pumpkin-Bourbon Pudding
Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake (no-bake!)

Chocolate, Pumpkin Shortbread Bites

I'm so excited it's finally fall (and the weather is in double, not triple, digits)! To celebrate,  next weekend my family is having a pumpkin bake fest. Can't wait. Pumpkin pie milkshakes, caramel pumpkin cupcakes, this recipe...our friends and family are going to love us!


This recipe is from Picky Palate, which always has the cutest holiday snack and dessert ideas. Hope you'll be able to get all your favorite pumpkin recipes cooked before the end of November!


Ingredients

2 sticks softened butter

1 Cup granulated sugar

1/4 Cup packed light brown sugar

1 3/4 Cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 Cups canned pumpkin

1/2 Cup granulated sugar

1/2 Cup heavy whipping cream

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

1 Cup chopped chocolate or chocolate chips

Sprinkles of choice if desired

Get Cookin'

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Use an electric mixer cream the butter and sugars until well combined.  Slowly add in flour and salt until dough forms. 

2.    Press into the bottom of an 8×8 inch baking dish, lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray.

3.    Next, for the pumpkin layer,mix pumpkin sugar, cream, eggs, cinnamon and nutmeg into a mixing bowl until well combined. 

4.    Pour over shortbread layer. 

5.     Bake for 45 minutes or until pumpkin layer is golden brown.

6.    Let cool for 30 minutes then cut into bars. 

7.    Melt chocolate over a double broiler or in microwave until smooth then spread over bars. 

8.    Sprinkle with white sprinkles if desired and serve room temperature or chill until ready to serve.

Chocolate Kaula trifle

Instead of a birthday cake this year, my mum made me a chocolate, Kaula trifle. We'd talked about Kaula a few weeks before my birthday and I said I wanted to try it. What better way than to try it in my birthday cake!

This was amazing-everybody loved it. It actually isn't too sweet, Jesse's mom doesn't like sugary-sweet things and she enjoyed it. We will be making this before my next birthday!

This is another recipe that's better to make the day before so the flavors have time to come together.

My birthday trifle and me!

Ingredients
1 pkg. chocolate cake mix
2 pkgs. (4 serving size) instant chocolate pudding mix
2 cups milk (only) for pudding mix
2/3 c. Kahlua
1 pt whipping cream, whipped
6 Heath bars, crushed in food processor

Get Cookin'
Mix cake mix as directed on package and bake in 13 x 9 inch pan.   Let cool (can do this the day before).

Make chocolate pudding using only 3 cups of milk instead of 4.  Set aside to cool.

Cut cake into 1" x 1" chunks. Put half of them into glass serving bowl.

Sprinkle with half the Kahlua.

Spread half the pudding over cake and sprinkle with half the Heath bars.
Repeat all layers.  Refrigerate

Top with homemade whipped cream to serve.
We served them in wine glasses, but you could serve them in bowls, too.

Let me Eat Cake!

This weekend is my birthday--anticlimactic 22 year birthday. But, I'm still excited. See, I adore celebrating birthdays (not just my own, everyone's)! Have you ever visited Birthday Girl? Her blog has the best of the best birthday parties- I love seeing the beautiful decorations and fun themes featured on her blog.

I'm most excited for birthday cake. JRM loves white on white cake, but I love double chocolate. Can't wait for a beautiful, chocolate cake! This one-bowl chocolate cake recipe from Martha Stewart looks amazing. Saturday can't come soon enough!

Photograph: Dennis Gottlieb/Getty Images/StockFood

Ingredients:

Unsalted butter, softened, for pans

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder, plus more for pans

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

3/4 cup warm water

3 tablespoons safflower oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract



Get Cookin'

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans and dust with cocoa.

Sift cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of a mixer. Beat on low speed until just combined. Raise speed to medium, and add eggs, buttermilk, water, oil, and vanilla. Beat until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Divide batter between pans. Bake until set and a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes. Turn out from pans. Transfer, faceup, to wire racks. Let cool completely.

Spread 2 cups chocolate frosting onto top of 1 cooled layer. Top with remaining layer; frost top and sides with remaining 2 cups frosting.

Chocolate Nutella Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite, but these must come in a close second--chocolate + nutella = heaven. You must try them, as soon as possible! The cookie dough by itself is even better than the cooked cookies!
After working on my honors prospectus all weekend (plus 3 honors contract proposals and studying for a poli sci exam) I loved relaxing and baking these on Sunday!

photo and recipe from here

Ingredients:

• 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, plus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup of chocolate chips

Get Cookin'

1 Preheat oven to 350F. Cream butter in an electric mixer for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and Nutella and mix well.

2 Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds between each. Add the vanilla and mix.

3 Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda. Mix into the butter mixture on low speed. Fold in chocolate chips and refrigerate the dough for ten minutes (I refrigerated mine for an hour).

4 Spoon tablespoon-sized drops of dough onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool on the sheets for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Makes 6 dozen.

Peanut Butter Cup and Pretzel Terrine

Happy Summer to All!
I read an article in the Arizona Republic today that Arizona is having a 'cool' summer. I admit it--it hasn't been quite as scorching as usual. But, it's still hot. This is another alternative dessert that doens't require the use of an oven.

photo:http://tinyurl.com/3yy9tcj

1. Line a loaf pan with parchment, leaving an overhang. Press 1½ pints softened vanilla ice cream into the pan, top with 20 chopped mini peanut butter cups, another 1½ pints vanilla ice cream, and ¾ cup broken pretzels. Freeze until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
2. To serve, remove from pan and slice.

Caramel-Almond Ice Cream Torte

My family had a birthday dinner a couple that are close family friends--their birthdays are two days apart! Trying to find a light dessert to replace birthday cake, my mum was struggling on choosing a recipe. I'd seen this 'ice cream cake' type dessert in the June issue of Real Simple and was dying to try it--this gave us the perfect excuse!

photo: http://tinyurl.com/29gd4ka

1. Press ½ gallon (4 pints) softened vanilla ice cream into a 9-inch springform pan. Freeze until slightly firm, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Top with 1 cup caramel sauce (slightly warmed, if too thick) and ½ cup toasted sliced almonds. Freeze until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days. To serve, remove from pan and slice.

Starbucks Reduced-Fat Banana Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake Recipe

I've eaten my share of Starbucks coffee cake, after working there for two years. A few months ago the company re-introduced their reduced fat banana chocolate chip coffee cake (the longest pastry name ever). It's delicious.

I stumbled upon this recipe for a banana chocolate chip coffee cake and it almost exactly like the Starbucks recipe (minus walnuts).



photo courtesy of Starbucks.com

Pumpkin Milkshake

I'm in love with everything pumpkin and feel like I have to eat it all before November is done because it's such a "fall food." Who eats pumpkin pie in February?! Nobody.
I made these over the weekend and loved them. We will be making these again. Thanks to Cooking Light for this recipe.

Ingredients:
2 cups vanilla reduced-fat ice cream (such as Healthy Choice), softened
1 cup fat-free milk
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice
Whipped Cream, optional (we didn't use it)

Get Cookin'

Combine first 5 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. Pour 3/4 cup ice cream mixture into glasses. Top each with whipped cream and sprinkle with the additional pumpkin-pie spice, if desired.

Quick Cookies: Funfetti Cookies

Sometimes I promise homemade cookies when I don't really have time to spend two hours in the kitchen. However, there is always time to make cake mix cookies. This recipe was on the side of the cake box last year. They're simple, fast and taste like they're made from scratch. Shh! It's my dirty secret.



Ingredients:
1 box Pillsbury Funtetti cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 c. oil

Get Cookin'

Mix ingredients in a bowl (you don't even need to get the mixer out for this!).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet and cook for 9 minutes. Take them out before they look brown. They will stay soft this way.


Update (June 25, 2010): I tried this recipe with a strawberry cake mix last night-they turned out delicious (and pink!)

Starbucks Outrageous Oatmeal Cookies

When Starbucks changed all pastry recipes this summer they handed out recipe cards with the new recipes on it. Working at Starbucks, I collected all the recipe cards we handed out! I finally got a chance to make the Outrageous Oatmeal Cookies that are quite popular at my store. I don't think they tasted exactly like the ones we sell, but they were a great oatmeal cookie.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c dark raisins
1/4 c golden raisins
1/4 c dried cranberries
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 Tablespoons dark raisins (topping)
4 Tablespoons golden raisins (for topping)


Get Cookin'

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Blend oats, flour, raisins, cranberries, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy, then add egg, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat until well combined.

Gradually add oat mixture; beat until combined.

Combine raisins for topping in a separate bowl and set aside.

Drop dough onto cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Place a teaspoon of raisin topping on top of dough.

Bake until cookies are golden brown and still soft: 12-16 minutes.

Caramel Pumpkin Cupcakes

I had a can of pumpkin I used for about two days to make pumpkin oatmeal. I lost interest because I didn't like washing a pot every morning at 7am. I've gone back to microwavable oatmeal. But, I still had a lot of pumpkin to use. My roommates and I found this recipe in the Hungry Girl cookbook. It's better than pumpkin pie. Seriously. The pumpkin makes them so moist, and the caramel topping is amazing.

The original recipe only made 12 cupcakes and used only 1/2 a box of cake mix. Who wants to save 1/2 a box of yellow cake mix? Not me. So, I doubled the recipe, as seen below.

For Cupcakes:
1 box yellow cake mix (most-style)
2 c canned pure pumpkin
2/3 c liquid egg substitue
2/3 c water
4 T maple syrup
4 t cinnamon
4 t granulated sugar
1/4 t salt

For Topping:
6 cubes chewy caramels
4 t vanilla soymilk

Get Cookin'

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all cupcake ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix until well blended (about 2 minutes). Spray muffin tins and evenly spoon the batter into the pans. Cook for about 12 minutes.

Immediately after the cupcakes are finished cooking, place caramels and soymilk in a microwave-safe dish. Microwave at medium power for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir vigorously until completely blended. Microwave again for 30 seconds. Drizzle caramel sauce over cupcakes.

Each cupcake only has 108 calories and 2 grams of fat. :)

Bon Bons

My mum always used to joke about watching soap operas and eating bon bons while I was at school. I never knew what a bon bon was--until now. Now I know why this used to be her fantasy. Yum.


1 1/2 c. rice krispies
1 1/4 c. peanut butter (smooth)
1 c. graham cracker crumbs (process them in a blender/ food processor or buy the pre-smashed kind; they need to be very fine)
1/2 c. powdered sugar
dark chocolate to melt and dip bon bons in

Get Cookin'

Mix cereal, peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs and powdered sugar together. Refrigerate as long as possible (min. one hour).

Shape mixture into small, round balls. I used a round tablespoon to do this. Tip: spray with cooking oil before so they don't stick.


Melt the chocolate in a double broiler and dip each ball. Place on wax and refrigerate for another hour.