June 16, 2010

Caesar Salad

056

When it comes to egg, I am a total hypocrite. I could eat raw cookie dough like there is no tomorrow, but when it comes to raw egg in anything else I get a bit skeeved out. Thankfully, I got over that quickly when I came across this recipe for Caesar dressing. It was rich and creamy, yet not overpoweringly so. The anchovies give it that well-known Caesar flavor without being fishy. Trust me, don’t skip these and don’t let the anchovies deter you. And for those of you that would prefer to keep your raw egg in cookie dough, you can substitute 2 Tablespoons of mayo for the raw egg. Topped with freshly made croutons this was a great meal for a freakishly hot spring evening.

Homemade Caesar Salad
Print this recipe

Ingredients:
For the croutons
6 slices crusty white bread, such as Italian or Ciabatta, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 Tablespoon minced flat leaf parsley
coarse salt
3 Tablespoons olive oil

For the dressing
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 egg yolks (or 2 Tablespoons mayo)
1 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
4-5 anchovies
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
coarse salt and pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil

Romaine lettuce
shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:
To make the croutons 
Preheat the oven to 350

Mix the bread pieces  with the minced garlic, parsley, salt and olive oil in a large bowl. Place on a rimmed cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 10-15 minutes or until toasted and golden brown.

To make the dressing
Mash the garlic cloves with egg yolks and mustard until it forms a paste. I used a food processor for this, but it can be done with a fork. Grind in the anchovies until well-combined. Mix in lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir in the olive oil until the mixture is creamy.

Toss the dressing with lettuce, croutons and parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper if desired.

Source: Joy the Baker

Leave a Comment

Filed under main dish, salad, side dish

June 14, 2010

Croissants

064

The summer I turned 16 I was fortunate enough to spend a few weeks traveling through Europe. I went on a whirlwind visit with a choir tour to 7 countries in 16 days (and, how awesome is this?! I got to sing in Notre Dame on my 16th birthday. That definitely takes the cake as one of the highlights of my life). During the 2 or 3 days in France we would wake up every morning to a gorgeous spread of food the hotel set out for us. Every day, the shining breakfast moment were the flakey, buttery croissants.

Croissants were the very first thing I’d added to my mental to-make list when I started tackling more complicated recipes, but I’ve put them off for quite a while because of how complicated laminating dough sounded. As so often happens, I built up the difficulty in my head so much that when it came time to actually do it, it was NOTHING! Sure, I had to stay near to the kitchen for a few hours, but oh darn! Other than that, it was actually quite simple. These fluffy and buttery croissants lived up perfectly to the memory of 16th birthday in France  breakfast croissants. Impressive.

Croissants
print this recipe

Ingredients:
Dough
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus some for rolling
1 Tablespoon instant yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups whole milk, cold
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Butter Square
24 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1-Tablespoon pieces, kept cold
2 Tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

Egg wash
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions:
To make the dough
In a medium bowl mix together 2 3/4 cups of the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Pour the milk into the bowl of an electric mixer, and add in the flour mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough forms into a ball, about 5 minutes.

Cut the butter into small pieces, then add into the mixing bowl. Continue to beat on low speed until the butter is fully blended into the dough. If the dough is still sticking to the sides of the mixing bowl, sprinkle in the additional 1/4 cup of flour one tablespoon at a time until the dough is smooth and tacky, but not sticky.

Wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

To make the butter square
Mix together the butter and flour on a clean surface and blend together with a bench scraper. (I mixed the flour and butter together in an electric mixer until fully blended.) Once the flour and butter are completely combined, scrape the butter into a 7-inch square. Wrap the square in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.

To make the dough turns
Sprinkle a clean work surface with flour. Place the dough on top of the flour and roll out to an 11 inch square. Place the butter square diagonally (butter square corners pointing to the flat edges of the dough square). Fold the corners of the dough square into the center and pinch the edges together to seal.

Tap the dough with a rolling pin, starting at the center and working outward until the butter softens. Work the dough into a 14-inch square, dusting with flour if the is sticking.

Fold the dough in thirds (like a business letter). Fold in thirds again so the dough is square. This is the first 2 turns of the dough.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours.

Remove the dough from the fridge and repeat the above turning process to complete 2 more turns. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour and roll out the dough into a 20-inch square. Cut the dough square down the middle to make 2 long rectangles. A pizza cutter works great for this. Cut each rectangle in thirds. Cut each remaining rectangle in half diagonally to end up with 12 dough triangles.

Gently lift a dough triangle and stretch the short end of the triangle until the 2 long sides are even. Make a 1-inch cut in the middle of the short base of the dough triangle, then roll up the dough, starting at the base, leaving 1/4 inch of the triangle tip unrolled.

Place the croissant, triangle point facing down, on one of the baking sheets. Repeat with the rest of the dough triangles.

Cover the croissants with plastic wrap and let rise for 45-60 minutes at room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 400.

Brush the tops of the croissants with the beaten egg using a pastry brush. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown, rotating the pan 180 degrees halfway through. Let cool a bit on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Source: Baking Illustrated

4 Comments

Filed under 25 in 2009, breakfast, pastry

June 11, 2010

Ciabatta Bread

116

I absolutely love bread. I love eating it, I love baking it. And for some reason I love punching down the risen dough. It’s an excellent stress-reliever. Ciabatta has been on my list of things to make for a long, long time. Then, a couple of months ago I pulled out my flour-covered copy of Bread Baker’s Apprentice and leafed through it. I landed on this ciabatta recipe and decided I was long overdue. This might be my favorite bread recipe I’ve made thus far. The center is fluffy and light, the crust golden and chewy. I have found that it gives the bread a slightly sourdough undertone if I let the poolish sit out at room temperature overnight rather than the suggested 3 hours.

Ciabatta Bread
print this recipe

Ingredients:
For the poolish- Day One
2 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
1 1/2 cups water, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

For the dough- Day Two
3 1/2 poolish
3 cups unbleached bread flour
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
6 Tablespoons to 3/4 cup water (or milk or buttermilk- I prefer milk)
cornmeal or semolina flour for dusting

Directions:
To make the poolish
Mix the flour, water, and yeast together in a medium bowl and stir until all of the flour is hydrated. The dough will be thick and sticky, much like thick pancake batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 3-4 hours (or over night). The sponge will be bubbly. Refrigerate until 1 hour prior to baking.

To make the dough
Remove the poolish from the refrigerator 1 hour prior to baking.

In the bowl of an electric mixer stir together the flour, salt and yeast. Add in the poolish and 6 Tablespoons of water. Beat on low speed until the dough forms a ball. Add additional water as needed to bring the ingredients together. Knead either by hand or in the mixer for 5-7 minutes or until the dough is smooth and soft yet sticky. It should clear the sides of the bowl yet will stick a bit to the bottom.

Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour, then turn the dough onto it and stretch gently to form a rectangle. Let rest for 2 minutes, then lightly stretch the dough into a long rectangle, doubling it’s original length. Fold the dough into itself in thirds (like a business letter) back into a small rectangle.

Mist the top of the dough lightly with oil and dust with flour, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Stretch and fold the dough again, mist with oil and dust with flour, re-cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 1/2-2 hours, until the dough is swollen but not necessarily double in size.

Lightly dust a countertop with flour again. Remove the dough from the plastic wrap and turn out onto the flour. Divide into 2 freestanding loaves. Lightly spray with oil and dust with flour again, recover and let rise for another 45-60 minutes, or until noticeably swollen.

Preheat the oven to 500. Place a heavy duty (not glass) sheet pan on the bottom of the oven. Dust the back of a sheet pan or a peel with the cornmeal.

If the middle of the loaf has risen high lightly press it down with a finger. Place each of the loaves on the sheet pan (I prefer to do one at a time) and place in the oven. Pour 1 cup of hot water into the pan at the bottom of the oven and close the oven door. Wait 30 seconds and spray the sides of the oven with water. Repeat twice at 30 second intervals. After the final spray turn the oven temperature to 450. Bake for 10 minutes.

Rotate the loaves 180 degrees and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the bread is golden and is reading 205 degrees in the center of one of the loaves.

Transfer the loaves to a wire cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing.

Source: The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart, pages 106, 136-139

2 Comments

Filed under 25 in 2009, bread

June 9, 2010

Cherry Pecan Chicken Salad

073

 Everyone talks about how much fun celebrating holidays with children is. And they’re right, it is fun- without question. However, what isn’t often talked about is how… we’ll say less fun… it can be to travel here, there and everywhere with 2 tired and over-excited children around holidays. So this year, for Mother’s Day we decided, as my gift to myself, that we would have our families over to us.  A occurance that is surprisingly rare.

When I started thinking about what to make for everyone I decided it would be the perfect time to try out a few new recipes. I knew I wanted to make croissants since they’ve been on my to-make list for eons.  I started to think about what would go well on a croissant and immediately thought of the recipe I’ve had concocted in my mind for months for cherry pecan chicken salad. I cooked the chicken the night prior so all I had to do was throw together the ingredients in the morning and put them on the croissants. As far as hostessing goes, it could not have been more simple and the chicken salad was exactly what I’d envisioned: slightly sweet, a bit crunchy and full of flavor.

Cherry Pecan Chicken Salad
print this recipe

Ingredients:
4 cups cubed cooked chicken
1/3 cup Mayo
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
3-4 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup dried cherries
1 cup chopped pecans
2 Tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley

Directions:
Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix until well-combined. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Serve.

Source: An original Laura’s Recipe Collection recipe

2 Comments

Filed under Laura's Recipe Collection Original Recipe, chicken, main dish, sandwich

June 5, 2010

Chicken Souvlaki

122

While I love those rare moments that I can spend 4 hours in the kitchen making an elaborate meal, sometimes it’s great to have a favorite dinner that can be tossed together in less than 20 minutes. This tops my new list of favorite super-fast dinners- an absolute must for a mother of 2 young children. I can also credit this delightful dish for teaching Brian that cucumbers are not all evil. Especially when they’re covered in garlic and feta cheese.

Chicken Souvlaki
print this recipe

Ingredients:
For the sauce
2 oz (1/2 cup) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup finely diced cucumber

For the chicken
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cups roasted skinless, boneless chicken breast
2 cloves garlic, minced

4 (6-inch) pita, cut in half
1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
1/4 cup chopped peeled cucumber
1/2 cup chopped plum tomato
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

Directions:
In a small bowl combine feta, yogurt, dill, 1 teaspoon of the olive oil, and 1 clove of garlic. Finely chop about 1/4 cup of the cucumber and mix into the sauce.

Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Sauté the remaining 2 cloves of garlic and the oregano for about 20 seconds. Add in the chicken and cook until heated completely, about 2 minutes.

Place a bit of the chicken mixture and 2 Tablespoons of the sauce into each pita half. Add tomato, cucumber and red onion to serve.

Source: Slightly adapted from Cooking Light

2 Comments

Filed under Greek, chicken, dips & spreads, main dish

June 1, 2010

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

001

While it may not be perfectly authentic, I absolutely love PF Chang’s. Unfortunately the closest location to us in Northern Michigan is more than 3 hours away, so we don’t get to go as often as we’d like, thus leaving me lettuce-wrap-less. Tragic, I know. Then a few weeks ago my new Food Network Magazine showed up in my mailbox. I opened it up and there was a recipe for lettuce wraps! Of course, we made them for dinner the following night. And, even less surprising, they were better than the original. No 3 hour drive required!

P.F. Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps
print this recipe

Ingredients:
For the chicken
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
1 large egg white
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 Tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

For the Stir-fry sauce
2 Tablespoons oyster sauce
1 Tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 Tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons cornstarch

For the noodles
2 bundles cellophane noodles
peanut oil for frying

For the Stir Fry
4 Tablespoons peanut oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced peeled ginger
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
4 scallions; 2 minced, 2 cut into 1 inch pieces
Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 lb shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and diced
3/4 cup diced water chestnuts

For Serving
Small lettuce leaves
Soy sauce, chili paste and/or hot mustard

Directions:
To make the chicken
In a small bowl whisk together the egg white, rice whine and cornstarch together. Toss in the chicken until coated, then cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

To make the stir-fry sauce
In a small bowl, combine the hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice wine and sesame oil. Add in the cornstarch and whisk together until the cornstarch has dissolved.

To make the noodles
Place a medium saucepan over high heat and fill with 3/4 inch of peanut oil. Heat the oil until it reaches 380 degrees. While the oil is heating pull apart the bundles of noodles. Place a handful of the noodles into the heated oil for 5-10 seconds or until they puff up. Remove from the oil and place them on a plate covered in paper towel, then repeat in several batches for the rest of the noodles.

To make the stir-fry
Place a large skillet over medium heat and coat in 2 Tablespoons peanut oil.  When the oil is hot add the chicken and sauté 2-3 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Add the remaining 2 Tablespoons of peanut oil to the skillet and heat. When the oil is nearly smoking add the garlic, ginger, jalapeño, minced scallions, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the sugar. Stir together and sauté for 30 seconds.

Add the mushrooms, water chestnuts and scallion pieces to the pan and stir-fry for 2 minutes.

Pour the stir-fry sauce and chicken into the pan and cook for 1 minute.

To serve place the noodles on a platter and top with the chicken mixture. Place on lettuce leaves and soy sauce for dipping.

Source: Food Network Magazine

Leave a Comment

Filed under Asian, appetizers, chicken, main dish

May 24, 2010

Chicken Parmesan

042

 

As I get more and more experienced in the kitchen there is a shocking revelation that becomes clearer and clearer. I, apparently, have been quite the picky eater. There are so many foods that I’ve never had before that are a pretty simple, basic, go-to food for so many people. Chicken parmesan is one of those foods. How is it possible that I’d eaten eggplant parmesan before ever having chicken parmesan?

Thankfully, along with me not-so-new-anymore cooking skills comes the willingness, not to mention desire, to try new foods. Including this gorgeously simple and flavorful chicken parmesan, and my first Giada recipe. Now I understand why it’s such a popular meal!

I liked that this recipe, while being slathered with melted cheese, felt lighter than I’d expected. So many chicken parmesan recipes that I went though were breaded (which I will be trying soon. I’m certainly not knocking the breading!) whereas this one stood out for it’s simplicity: chicken. spices. sauce. cheese. yum.

 

Chicken Parmesan with Simple Tomato Sauce
print this recipe

Chicken Parmesan
Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon chopped fresh Italian (flat leaf) parsley
salt and pepper
2 lbs chicken breasts, pounded 1/2 inch thin, or 8 chicken cutlets
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (recipe follows)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/3 cup grated parmesan
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 500.

In a small bowl combine the olive oil, spices, salt and pepper. Brush each side of the chicken with the spiced oil.

Heat a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken to the pan and heat until golden, approximately 2 minutes per side.  Remove the pan from the heat.

Sprinkle the chicken with a spoonful of sauce and a sprinkle of each of the cheeses. Add a bit of the butter to the top of the chicken pieces.

Bake for 3-5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is melted. Serve.

Simple Tomato Sauce 
Ingredients:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 32oz cans crushed tomatoes
4-6 basil leaves
2 dried bay leaves
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic to the pot and sauté until tender, approximately 2 minutes.

Add the celery and carrot to the pot. Sprinkle in with salt and pepper. Sauté until all of the vegetables are tender, approximately 5 minutes.

Add the tomato, basil and bay leaves to the pot and simmer until sauce is thick, approximately 1 hour.

Remove the bay leaves from the pot and taste the sauce. If it is too acidic, add the butter to the pan, 1 Tablespoon at a time.

Remove half of the sauce from the pan and puree in a food processor until smooth. Puree the second half of the sauce, then mix back into the pot.

The remaining sauce can be cooled, then frozen.

Source: Giada De Laurentiis, Food Network

Leave a Comment

Filed under Italian, chicken, main dish, sauce

May 20, 2010

Lighter Beef Stroganoff

If I had to choose, if I absolutely had to, I think beef stroganoff would be my favorite meal. But please don’t make me choose. That would be cruel.

Normally when I make beef stroganoff I make the same recipe that my mom always made when I was growing up. But this time, I needed something fairly quick that I could make for dinner, so obviously making it in the crockpot wasn’t an option.

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll tell you that Brian didn’t care much for this version. We determined that apparently he doesn’t like the taste of sherry. I liked it a lot and didn’t think it tasted too sherry-ish but next time I make it I’ll probably either use less of it or completely eliminate in and increase the amount of broth we use. That being said, it was nice having beef stroganoff on a whim and I’ll definitely keep this in my arsenal.

Lighter Beef Stroganoff
print this recipe

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless sirloin steak, trimmed
3 cups (8 oz)  sliced cremini mushrooms
½ cup chopped onion
1 Tablespoon butter
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup low-sodium beef broth
¼ cup dry sherry
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
¾ cup low-fat sour cream
4 cups hot cooked egg noodles
3 Tablespoons minced flat leaf parsley

Directions:
Prepare egg noodles according to package directions.

Cut the beef across the grain into 2 inch slices, ½ inch thick.

Spay a large skillet with cooking spray and saute the beef strips for 2 minutes, or until slightly browned. Remove the beef from the pan and set aside.

Saute the onions and mushrooms in the pan for about 4 minutes, or until the onion is tender and slightly golden. Remove the mushrooms and onions from the pan and combine with the beef. Set aside.

Add the butter to the pan and melt, then add in flour and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute, then gradually add the beef broth to the pan, whisking to combine. Simmer until the sauce is thickened, about 1 minute.

Stir in the beef, mushrooms and onions, sherry, salt and pepper to the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 30 seconds, then stir in the sour cream.

Serve the beef mixture over noodles and sprinkle with parsley.

Source: Cooking Light

Leave a Comment

Filed under beef, main dish, pasta

May 18, 2010

Gnocchi with Spinach and Chicken Sausage

Hi there! Remember me? I used to post recipes around here? Ha :) Life’s been a bit hectic in the last few weeks and our dinners have consisted of tried and true, quick favorites, so posting, as you may have noticed, has been sparse. I’m happy to say that we seem to finally have gotten back in the groove and dinnertime (and breakfast and dessert time) have been much more exciting as of late.

This dish was invented by Yours Truly during one of those aforementioned hectic evenings. I’d been wandering around our grocery store, which is in the process of being remodeled and is at times a complete mess, when I wandered by a display of chicken sausage. On a whim I picked up some spinach feta chicken sausage and put it in the cart without any idea what I was actually going to do with it. At another store a few days later I did the same thing with a box of gnocchi. Then, one evening I was staring into our refrigerator trying to concoct something tasty that did not involve peanut butter and jelly when I saw the chicken sausage. I started throwing things into the pan and – tada- Brian’s new favorite meal was born. I’m happy to report that my What Can I Make in Twenty Minutes dinner ended up being a new entry in our weekly dinner rotation. Up next? Making the gnocchi from scratch!

Gnocchi with Spinach and Chicken Sausage
print this recipe

Ingredients:
2 16 oz boxes potato gnocchi
4 chicken sausages, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1-2 shallots, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
14 oz low sodium chicken broth
2-3 large handfuls spinach
dash of heavy cream (optional)
grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
Heat the olive oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots into the pan and saute until tender. Add in the garlic and saute for 1 minute or until lightly golden. Add in the chicken sausage and cook until heated through.

Pour the chicken broth into the pan, stirring while scrapping the bottom of the pan well. Let simmer until the broth is thickened and reduced by about a third to a half. Add the spinach into the pan and simmer until wilted. Remove from heat and add a splash of heavy cream, stirring well. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and mix together. Serve.

Source: Laura’s Recipe Collection Original

3 Comments

Filed under Laura's Recipe Collection Original Recipe, chicken, freezer friendly, gnocchi, main dish, pasta

April 28, 2010

Mocha Brownie Cupcakes

We are quite the coffee addicts around our house. It is my firm belief that there isn’t much better than coffee & chocolate together. An iced mocha is a surefire way to perk up my day (pun intended. Perk? Coffee? oh my). So these little cupcakes are what I’d consider the trifecta of great desserts. 1) Coffee 2) Brownie 3) Chocolate!

I’ve made them a few times now but I think my favorite way to make them is as mini cupcakes, kind of like a shot of espresso, but a million times better :)

Mocha Brownie Cupcakes
makes about 22 full-sized cupcakes
Print This Recipe

Ingredients:
for the cupcakes
11 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons espresso powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
½ cup coffee liqueur

for the frosting
16 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 Tablespoon instant coffee granules
2 teaspoons hot coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
To make the cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350°. Prepare 2 cupcake pans with paper liners and set aside. Place a heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water and in the bowl melt together the butter and chocolate, stirring until smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat and let cool.

While the chocolate mixture is cooling combine flour, espresso powder, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the egg and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the coffee liqueur and chocolate mixer and beat until combined.

Gradually pour the flour mixture into the electric mixer bowl and beat until just combined.

Spoon the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling the cups about 2/3rds of the way.

Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

To make the frosting
In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter at medium high speed until it is smooth. Slowly add in the confectioners’ sugar until just blended, then increase mixer speed and beat until light and fluffy. Add in the coffee, coffee granules and vanilla extract and beat until well-blended.

Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.

Source: Annie’s Eats

4 Comments

Filed under brownies and bars, cake, chocolate, cupcakes, dessert

Newer Entries

Older Entries