APPLE BUTTER CUPCAKES

Apple Butter Cupcakes – a deliciously easy cupcake recipe with apple butter in both the cupcake and frosting for lots of great apple flavor.

Although it’s not quite fall and we’re still enjoying the final bit of summer that remains, I must admit that I’m looking forward to fall. It has been so hot in Georgia lately – between 95 and 100 degrees most days – that I’m ready for some cooler weather. Not to mention apple treats, apple picking, apple cider and all the flavors of fall.

Living so close to the Georgia mountains, it’s really easy for us to head up to the mountains and go apple picking. It’s always a lot of fun, with a variety of fresh apples and plenty of apple cider to go around. It’s also the time of year that I really start digging the use of cinnamon – one of my very favorite spices to bake with and eat – so warm and spicy sweet. And of course apples and cinnamon are just meant to be together.

These cupcakes are made with plenty of apple butter in both the frosting and the cupcake. It’s perfect if you’re ready to start baking with apples now, before apple picking season is in full swing. Apple butter is one of my favorite spreads and it works wonderfully in these cupcakes.

The cupcakes are super moist, light, fluffy and bursting with apple flavor. The frosting is smooth and creamy with a mix of cream cheese and apple butter plus a kick of cinnamon for added warmth. I finished them off with some dried apple chips, which work perfectly on top. They were a big hit! So cute, fun and tasty! I had to share them as soon as possible so that I didn’t eat them all.

APPLE BUTTER CUPCAKES

(makes 12-14 cupcakes)

For the Apple Butter Cupcakes:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cups sugar

6 tablespoons sour cream

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 egg whites

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons apple butter

2 tablespoons milk

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and prepare a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Add sour cream and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
4. Add egg whites in two batches, mixing until well combined after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
5. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl, set aside. Combine the apple butter and milk in a small measuring cup.
6. Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until well combined. Add the apple butter mixture and mix until well combined. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
7. Fill the cupcake liners about halfway. Bake for 17-19 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs.

For the Cinnamon Apple Butter Frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons apple butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

12-15 dried apple chips

1. Beat the cream cheese and butter together until combined and smooth.
2. Add about half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
3. Add the apple butter, vanilla extract and ground cinnamon and mix until smooth.
4. Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
5. Pipe swirls of frosting on top of each cupcake, then top them with a dried apple chip.

Store cupcakes in the refrigerator. Serve at room temperature.

Marbled Peanut Butter Chunky Skillet Cookie

The swirls of chocolate that dance throughout this peanut butter skillet cookie will make you want to dive right in. I know because I could barely wait for a bite once I took this big beauty out of the oven.

The ingredients you’ll need are: flour, sugar, brown sugar, butter, peanut butter, vanilla, salt, eggs, baking powder, vanilla and chocolate syrup.

Oh …  and some miniature semisweet chocolate chips don’t hurt either. Once the batter is mixed, stir them right in for a double dose of chocolate.
Spread half the batter in the bottom of a greased 10-inch cast iron skillet.

Now … yum … pour some chocolate syrup all over the top.

Good stuff.

Then spread the rest of the batter on top of the syrup like so.

Now, gently swirl a thin knife through the batter several times. Be careful not to over mix or it will lose some of the marbled effect.

Okay, let’s bake this baby.

Beautiful. And even better with a big scoop of ice cream on top.

Dig in with friends and several spoons or cut into even slices to serve.

Marbled Peanut Butter Skillet Cookie

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 – 1/3 cup chocolate syrup

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Generously grease a deep 10-inch cast iron skillet.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl and set aside.
• Using a mixer, beat butter and peanut butter until combined. Add both sugars and beat until combined. Add eggs one at a time beating between each addition. Then add vanilla and mix.
• Add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture and mix until incorporated. Stir in mini chocolate chips.
• Spread half of batter in bottom of skillet. Pour syrup on top. Gently spread remaining batter on top of syrup. Using a thin knife, gently swirl syrup through batter.
• Bake 45-50 minutes. (Note: You can also bake in a 13 X 9 inch pan for 35-40 minutes.)

Enjoy with ice cream and more syrup if desired.

Peanut Butter Chunky Chocolate Cookies.

I used a big scoop for these cookies. ?? inches wide that yields 12-13 cookies from the dough. But feel free to use a smaller scoop for more cookies.

Look at these great big balls of cookie dough though.

Before baking sprinkle a little sea salt on top to make them taste extra special.

Oh my … so much melty chocolate.

Speaking of melty. If you can’t wait for these to cool like a certain sweets-loving person I know, then be prepared to enjoy puddles of warm chocolate with a tall glass of cold milk.

Peanut Butter Chunky Chocolate Cookies

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

12-18 oz semisweet chocolate baking wafers (I used these.)

sea salt

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.
• Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
• Using a mixer, cream butter, peanut butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs one at a time, mixing until incorporated. Add vanilla.
• Add flour mixture and slowly mix until combined. Stir in chocolate wafers.
• Scoop dough using a large 2-1/2 inch scoop (yields 12-13 cookies) a few inches apart onto a parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle the tops lightly with sea salt. Bake 14-16 minutes and let cool.
  Note: For more cookies, use a smaller scoop and bake for a little less time.

Enjoy!!!

King Cake Kindergarten

King Cake Kindergarten

his is what a vegan Apple Cheezecake King Cake looks like all raring to go.

The King Cake I love (there's a French version that's very different) is eaten in New Orleans, Louisiana throughout the season of Carnival.  Carnival begins every year on Twelfth Night (January 6th) and ends on Mardi Gras Day/Fat Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday when Lent begins).  Even though I no longer live in NOLA, making King Cakes during this season is a ritual that helps me feel closer to the friends, culture and city I miss.  

During Carnival in NOLA, you can find this special cake at all bakeries and stacked tall at the supermarkets, but when I was living there, a vegan version was only available at the Whole Foods up on Magazine Street (made by my awesome vegan pals).  These days I've read about more vegan (and even xgfx) versions popping up around the city.  The more customary flavors of King Cake are lemon, apple, cream cheese, cinnamon, or a simple fruit filling.  Nowadays, you can even find cupcake versions, personal sized minis, and wackier flavors by the slice like "The Elvis" (bacon, marshmallow, banana and peanut butter).  Absolut makes King Cake flavored vodka, too.  So, hopefully a King Cake iced King Cake paired with a King Cake Mojito and/or King Cake agar shots will appear in my near future. 

King Cake is made from a rich yeasted dough, similar to a brioche or cinnamon roll dough.  It's rolled out into a large rectangle, filled, formed into a coiled log then shaped into a ring and baked.  Once baked, it's thickly glazed, bedazzled with purple, green and gold sprinkles (the colors of Carnival symbolizing justice, faith and power) and outfitted with a magickal baby (symbolizing Jesus), who resides inside.

Making King Cakes at home is really fun and satisfying.  My favorite part is making them as crazy and over the top as possible, sharing them with friends, showing them off at parties, or peddling them at benefit bakesales.  While they're not too difficult to pull off, they do require a bit of finesse and a whole lot of different parts and steps (sorta like model airplane kits).  I wouldn't ever make one if I were rushed for time, and the xgfx version is even a hair trickier (gluten-free doughs can be bitchy if you're not used to them, as they're more delicate and stickier than traditional wheat doughs).

To give you an ol' project overview, a standard King Cake involves the following:

1. Prepare dough, filling/s, glaze/icing, sprinkles and procure wee baby and tinfoil covered cardboard tray.
2. Roll dough, fill, form, bake, insert baby, ice, decorate and transfer to tray.
3. Wheat version also requires extra time set aside for dough rising.
4. XGFX version requires some steps applied without breathing, so you might need to train beforehand.   However, any negative effects from oxygen deprivation will surely be repaid tenfold as the gluten-free version is much faster to make than its traditional cousin.  Faster to make = faster to eat.

This is a xgfx Cinnamon Apple Creme King Cake. You must train for its completion. 
Practice tip:  try changing your underwear without breathing and as you get good at this, adding socks and then other under-pinnings.

You can see from the picture, the xgfx King Cake looks a bit more rustic than the one made with wheat.  When you form the ring, you will most likely get a few cracks, and it will definitely crack in the oven, but it will still taste sexellente.  Once you glaze it, Jesus it, and sprinkle it, no one will even notice.  Except for you, because you will be eating King Cake for the first time in maybe ever!

A slice of strawberry cheezecake.  NOT pastrami.

Here's what a slice of King Cake looks like.  I tried hard to find an appropriate inside shot to show off, but apparently, they're hard to come by.  For some reason, the ones I have on my computer are all filled with strawberry cream cheeze, and for some other reason, strawberry cream cheeze King Cake innards look like pastrami.  And, Pastrami, if you don't know, is gross.

The best way I know to travel with or serve King Cake is on top of tin-foiled cardboard.  It works great and afterwards, you can wrap up any lefties with the salvaged foil.  I usually just tape it down in a few places on the back and call it a day.

Be like Dazee and use leftover colored sugar on your oatmeal.

To make colored sugar sprinkles, put about 1/4 cup unbleached granulated sugar in a bowl and add a tiny smidge of food color paste (I think Wilton works best, and it comes in purple).  Work the paste into the sugar with a spoon, have patience, and after a minute or so it will start to blend together.

Woo!  I think that's everything you need to know to prepare yourself!  Recipes forthcoming!

❤ Peanut Butter Cup King Cake (gluten edition)
❤ XGFX Peanut Butter Cup King Cake
❤ 2008 Update (contains gluten) 
❤ Apple-Praline King Cake

Straightforward Cashew Lemon Cheezecake
Makes 1 cake, 8-12 slices

To get the best results, you need to use a high-speed blender. You will need a 6-, 7-, or 8-inch springform pan that fits inside your pressure cooker. If you don’t want to make an oat crust, use your favorite raw crust.

Kittee Tip: Instead of purchasing a small springform pan, I lined a regular 6" cake pan with parchment and pressed the crust in on top of that. It worked like a charm! Just refrigerate the cheesecake and once chilled and set, use the paper to pull the cake from the pan...

What You Need for the Crust:

♥  1 cup quick oats (I used rolled oats)

♥  ½ cup walnuts

♥  ½ cup chopped dates, soaked in ¼ cup water for 15 to 30 minutes, drained, but reserve soaking liquid

What You Need for the Filling:

♥ 1 cup cashews, soaked in 1 cup water for 2 to 4 hours

♥ ½ cup coconut flour

♥ ¼ cup coconut palm sugar

♥ ½ cup vanilla nondairy milk

♥ 1 to 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

♥ 2 tablespoons lemon juice

♥ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

♥ 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder

♥ ½ cup fresh raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries; or 6 figs, sliced; or other fruit to top the cheesecake

1. Add 1½ cups water to your pressure cooker and add a rack elevated above the water. Create a set of  helper handles to enable you to remove the pan.

2. To make the crust: Combine the crust ingredients in a mini food processor and process briefly until the mixture comes together. If it seems too dry, add a tablespoon at a time of the date soaking liquid

until you have a cohesive “dough.” It should be firm but not gooey. Press into the bottom and a little

way up the sides of a springform pan that will fit in your pressure cooker.

3. To make the filling: Drain the cashews, reserving the soaking water. Add the cashews and half the

soaking water to a high-speed blender or food processor and process until smooth. Add more water, if necessary. Add the coconut flour, palm sugar, milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla to the blender or processor. Blend well. Add the arrowroot and blend again.

4. Pour the filling into the crust, smoothing out the top. Cover the pan with foil or a cover. Lower the

pan into the pressure cooker, using the helper handle, if necessary.

5. Lock on the lid. Bring to high pressure; cook for 20 minutes. Let the pressure come down naturally. Carefully open the cooker, tilting the lid away from you.

6. Using the helper handle, carefully take the pan out of the cooker. Remove the cover carefully so any accumulated moisture does not drip onto the cake. Set the pan on a rack to cool. Place the fruit on top of the cheezecake. Let cool for at least 30 minutes, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour before removing the outer part of the pan and serving.

link

Vegan Under Pressure 

I've been posting pretty frequently about the mad infatuation I have with the ol' Instant Pot, so when Julieshowed me Jill Nussinow's recent Vegan Under Pressure, I knew I wanted to take it for a spin and review it.

I really love this book. If you have a pressure cooker, you'll also really love this book. For any of you vegan old timers, (I'm looking at you, Andrea), her cooking style reminds me a LOT of Lorna Sass--not just the pressure cooking angle, but her style with recipes, too. She's sorta got a little macro glow.

The recipes in VUP, definitely have a healthy slant to them, in a way I really appreciate. The bulk contain millet and other cool grains, with tons of legumes and vegetables. I didn't notice any processed ingredients besides healthy oils (and those seem limited--I added a little to recipes here and there) and just a little salt (I added some of that too). There are desserts, and I was particularly mesmerized by the prospect of pressure cooking cake, fruit crumbles, and cheezecake.

I'm not new to pressure cooking, but since it's been awhile and the electric cooker is newish to me, I've definitely experienced a learning curve. This book helps so much, and will be a staple for me. The author gives detailed, thorough directions in each recipe for pressure amounts and cooking times, and specifies whether to allow the pressure in the pot to come down naturally, or if it needs a quick release. The book also includes detailed reference charts for cooking legumes, rice, grains and vegetables.

"Baked" Beans with hot dogs and 'tato chips.

Here's what I've made so far, but I'll definitely be making lots more:

Simple Vegetable Stock--This was a great basic recipe using odds and ends I pulled out of the fridge and pantry. I poured it into a pitcher and used it all week. I need to get in the habit of keeping this around, because it took practically no work.

French Green Lentils--French lentils are really easy to overcook, so I followed the cooking time for a lentil salad in the book, and they came out perfectly al dente.

"Baked" Beans--These made me ridiculously happy, because they're sweetened with dates and blackstrap molasses and came together in a snap. I'm also always looking for new bean recipes, and these are nothing like what I already had in my repertoire.

Gomen (Ethiopian Collard Greens) over cheesie grits. This combo was soOOo good.

Gomen (Ethiopian Collard Greens)--There are several Ethiopian inspired recipes in VUP, but the gomen caught my eye first, because they're cooked with berbere, which I'd never done before. These were faboo served over cheese grits (I used Follow Your Heart cheddar shreds). These will stay in our regular rotation--they were awesome.

Peanut butter chia-oats, topped with coconut flakes and Apple Berry Crisp

Apple Berry Crisp or Not-So Crisp--Pressure cooking a fruit crisp definitely didn't save me any time, but it is pretty awesome, because you can let it go without babysitting, and it won't burn or heat up your house. I loved the fruit part of this dessert, but didn't love the not so crisp topping, until I scooped it onto some chia-oats. I'd definitely make this again, but for breakfasts instead of dessert.

Straightforward Cashew Lemon Cheezecake--I find the idea of pressure cooking cheesecake titillating, so this was one of the first recipes I tried.  Again, you don't really save time by pressure cooking this, but it's pretty cool nonetheless. Jill and her publisher are letting me share this recipe, so you'll find it below--I've already made three! The first iteration I made as written with a blueberry-ginger chia jam on top, the second had orange blossom water, cinnamon and cardamon added with an orange mixed-berry chia jam topping, and the third is chocolate-crusted peanut butter cheesecake. Stay tuned for results on the last one, since it needs to set up in the fridge overnight before we can slice it. One thing for certain, these cheesecakes taste best after a few days in the fridge. I liked them the most after the second day, which makes them awesome for parties!

Here's the shiro I made from their product. I followed the recipe on their site, and it's the first time I ever made it adding tomato. 

Shiro is probably the easiest thing you could ever make. You just saute an onion and garlic in a little oil and add water and the powder (shiro is made from spices and ground legumes). It thickens up just like gravy, and after you've let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes, it's ready to go. If you don't have injera, you can just eat it with a salad and a big fluffy and crunchy baguette. It's super comforting to eat, and I long for it during our long gray and rainy days in PDX.

Ye'souf Fitfit up close and personal. 

Souf Fitfit is also stupid easy to make! I just toast sunflower seeds in a pan with a clove of garlic, then make a sauce out of it in a blender with water and salt. Pour it over torn injera with minced jalapeno, sweet bells, an herb like parsley or cilantro and either white or green onion. Taste for salt and add a little lemon or lime juice, if you want it tangier.

I mixed Fassica berbere with a little EFA oil and drizzled it over a very non-ethiopian dinner--cheese grits, steamed kale and tempeh bacon. It was sublime.

The berbere is a great addition to any pantry, even if you're not up to cooking a big Ethiopian feast. I often mix it into a little EVOO or EFA oil and drizzle it on top of greens and grits. You can mix it into dough or use it anywhere you'd like a little salty bit of heat. It's a million times more flavorful than plain ol' red pepper, 'cuz it's got a million other spices in it too.

Ethiopian Spice Giveaway - From Sangee!!

Here's the wonderful bundle of Ethiopian love I received from Fassica.
Shiro on the left, pure teff injera, and berbere on the right.

While stalking Instagram for new and tasty Ethiopian inspiration, I ran across Fassica! They're a small, newcompany based in California, who's goal is "to find a way to offer authentic Ethiopian spices and most importantly 100% Teff Injera (gluten free) to many through [their] website Fassica." People are always asking me which berbere I recommend, so you know I was all over this, right? 

I got in touch with Fassica, and they sent me over a huge bag of all teff injera, plus a bag of miten shiro and berbere. The best mail ever!! YUM SO GOOD!! 

Miten shiro, tucked in with our favorite Souf Fitfit (torn injera and veggies/herbs tossed in a sunflower seed sauce) and a green salad. Recipes from Teff Love.

I'm so excited to finally have an online, domestic source for Ethiopian pantries, I love and can recommend. I really hope folks start ordering from them, because they deserve the business, and also because the berbere from Frontier and Penzey's is not what you want for Ethiopian food! Folks continue to purchase these brands, which are almost all cayenne pepper, and then complain that my recipes are toooOOOoo spicy. Of course they are! You just added 3 tablespoons of cayenne pepper to that pot of lentils!!!! :((((((

Shiro, timatim fitfit, kale and doro wot with potatoes. I followed the video from Make Great Ethiopian Food for the doro wot, and cooked the onions for THREE HOURS, and added gardein Chick'n Scallopini and potatoes to make it vegan!!! Ha ha. Most doro wot cooks for longer. :-/

If you're worried about ordering injera online, Fassica packs theirs so securely, with padding and an ice pack, too. It's pretty much the most gorgeous pure-teff injera of all time, and I really wish I lived closer to them, so I could pick some up on when I'm hit by an Ethiopian whim. If you order some, be prepared to cook food to accompany it the day it arrives, because fresh injera needs to be used ASAP! Or if you have leftovers like I did, you can turn it into fitfit/firfir, or even dry it out in the fridge and make crunchy chips (dirkosh), which make the best hummus crackers--the tang in all teff injera cannot be duplicated.

Chocolate Brownie Cake

Yields 16 servings (more like 12 for me).

This chocolate cake is quite a delight, and it happens to be oil free, low in calories, and low in fat. It will make you think of dessert in a band-new light. Just serve this delightful cake to guests (or unsuspecting family members) and see whether they can tell it's closer to health food than junk food. My littlest say it tastes just like a brownie, and I don't disagree.

What You Need:

♥ 1 banana, mashed (about 2/3 cup)

♥ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

♥ 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

♥ 1/3 cup unrefined sugar, such as maple or coconut palm

♥ 1/3 cup agave syrup

♥ 1/2 cup unsweetened natural or Dutch-processed cocoa powder

♥ 1 teaspoon baking powder

♥ 1 teaspoon baking soda

♥ 1/2 teaspoon salt

♥ 2/3 cup teff flour

♥ 1 cup chickpea flour

♥ 1 cup water

What You Do:

Preheat your oven to 350F and line the bottom and the sides of an 8-inch square cake pan with parchment paper. To easily do this, cut two strips 8 inches wide x 12 inches long and crisscross them over each other to completely cover the pan.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, vanilla extract, applesauce, unrefined sugar, agave, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

Gradually add the teff flour and the chickpea flour along with the water and mix well until a smooth batter is formed. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until firm to the touch.

Let cool briefly and then serve. Enjoy plain or top with chocolate glaze and/or fruit.

Per Serving: 112 calories, 1.3 g fat, 167 mg sodium, 24.2 g carbs and 3.7 g protein