soft and chewy candy-filled cookies

Posted on December 30, 2012 by natalie @ wee eats

It’s the last weekend of 2012, and I apparently fell off the face of the earth for the week of Christmas.

Oops.

But these were able to bring me back.

Lucky for you, because now I’m able to share these delightful goodies with you, for our last installment of COOKIE MADNESS.

I’m sure you thought cookie madness ended with Christmas. Don’t worry, I did too.

But then, well, like I said… these happened.

Giant, soft, chewy, candy-filled cookies. Oh, and you don’t need to wait for butter to soften, because it’s melted. Oh, and you don’t need to use a mixer, just a sturdy whisk and your arm. Although, if you’ve been slacking off at the gym (like some of us lately), you may want to pull out your hand mixer. It’s easier to lift than the Kitchen Aid anyway.

Oh, and they’re completely delicious. Did I mention that?

Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies

[ Printable Recipe ]

2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt (scant)
1 ½ sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 to 1 ½ cups mix-ins (chocolate chips, m&ms, even dried fruit if that’s the way you roll)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix the flour, scant ½ teaspoon salt, and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.

In another bowl, whisk the butter and sugars until they are thoroughly blended. Add the egg, extra yolk, and vanilla. Continue stirring until mixed.

Add flour mixture and continue mixing just until dough forms. Once ingredients are incorporated, gently fold in your mix-ins.

Scoop into dough balls (1/4 cup portions for 18 large cookies or 2 tablespoon portions for 36 smaller cookies).

Roll each ball in your hands, and then gently pull the ball apart at the center, creating two equal-sized half-balls. Press both halves back together with the jagged edges (what used to be the center of the ball) facing up. Try not to feel too ridiculous while doing this. Clearly it’s totally normal, right?

Place the new mutant dough-“balls” on your baking sheet. If you’re doing large cookies, I’d leave at least 2 inches in between each. Large cookies will probably be about 4 inches in diameter, “smaller” cookies will be more… regular-sized.

Bake for 15-18 minutes until lightly golden and just set. Cool the cookies on their baking sheet at least ten minutes to finish setting. Move to cooling rack to finish cooling completely.

Makes about 16 large or 36 small cookies

[ Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated: The New Best Recipe ]

candy corn upside down cake

Posted on October 22, 2012 by natalie @ wee eats

The internet is a beautiful thing.

It introduces us to wonderful things like adorable animals, outrageous comics, useless knick-knacks, and amazing recipes that, without the internet, I would never know existed.

I wouldn’t know they were missing from my life, but they would be. I’m sure there would be an emptiness somewhere inside me.

One of these things was on Serious Eats last week. It got planted in my brain and I couldn’t get it to go away. I wouldn’t even know that I was thinking of it but I was… all the time… There would be moments that it would just randomly pop into my head all, “Hey there, remember me?” “Don’t you want to make me?”

What was this magical thing? Candy corn upside down cake.

Mind = Blown. I know.

Of course we all know about pineapple upside down cake, but CANDY CORN upside down cake? That’s just madness. MADNESS!

Since I’m one of two people in the world who actually happens to love candy corn, I was immediately excited over this concept. A lot of you don’t love candy corn. I know this. BF is one of you. So when I came home from the store, dumped my groceries out onto the counter, and starting rambling on about this magical “candy corn upside down cake” he got a disgusted look on his face, “Candy Corn?? Gross.”

Joke was on him in the end though, because guess what!

HE. LOVED. IT.

Like, eating-crumbs-from-the-bottom-of-the-cake-plate loved it.

What happens is this: the candy corn, already made of sugar, melts and mixes with the brown sugar and butter, and forms a super-caramelized candy coating on top of the cake…It’s not the prettiest thing in the world, but I’ve definitely seen worse. And sure I felt a little silly melting butter and then sprinkling it with brown sugar… and then sprinkling that with candy corn. Over the top? Maybe a little.

So those of you who love candy corn, prepare yourself for pure sugary bliss.

Those of you who hate candy corn, PREPARE YOURSELF FOR PURE SUGARY BLISS. Please give it a try. At the very least, I definitely found my new cake base for upside down cake. It’s so light and delicate and … well, just make it. You’ll see.

Candy Corn Upside Down Cake

[ Printable Recipe ]

For the Glaze:

⅓ cup (about 5 tablespoons) butter
⅔ cup packed brown sugar
1 ½ cups candy corn

For the Cake:

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment (I used a 9-by-2” round cake pan)

Melt ⅓ cup butter and pour into the pan. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over the butter. Sprinkle candy corn evenly on top.

In a medium bowl, sift or stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each until just incorporated. Add vanilla extract and stir just to combine.

Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk, in 2 to 3 additions (flour-milk-flour-milk-flour), scraping the sides as necessary. Beat on low speed until fully incorporated. Carefully pour the batter into the pan (If you try to pour it all in at once, it will push all of your candy corn to the side).

Set a cookie tray under the cake in the oven, in case the candy bubbles or drips. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, 45 to 50 minutes.

Let cool 5 to 10 minutes in the pan, then VERY CAREFULLY invert the cake onto a plate. Leave the pan in place for several minutes so the gooey mixture can drip down over the cake. After the dripping is done, lift off the pan (I had to pry mine with a fork). Serve while warm.

[ Adapted from Serious Eats ]

thursday things

Posted on December 5, 2013 by natalie @ wee eats

Happy Thursday!

Hard to believe that just one week ago today we were all stuffing our faces at the family table. I hope that everyone’s Thanksgiving went well! Our Thanksgiving was great, even though I forgot half of the things I was supposed to take (oops) and now I have a bunch of frozen cranberry sauce. I snuck some into some muffins (recipe to come), but I’ve still got a lot to go through. Maybe I’ll start making PB & Cranberry Sauce sandwiches… That’s totally not weird, right? I mean, I did make a turkey and cranberry quesadilla, and I feel like a cranberry PBJ is much less weird than that…

Isn’t it funny how you spend so much time building up to Thanksgiving and then in the blink of an eye it’s all gone! Our Thanksgiving flew by and was followed by an also far-too-short weekend trip to Vegas!

I know that it was too short because we only got to eat Bouchon once, and once is not enough.

Unless you count my trip back up to the Venetian in search of some Bouchon jelly (Fiance and I fell in love with it on our last trip and planned to buy several jars)… only to find out that apparently they don’t sell the jelly anymore! I was devastated (and hungry, since I didn’t eat breakfast and it was a mile walk from my hotel!) so I purchased a kouign amann and an almond croissant to soak up my jelly-less tears.

When I arrived at our hotel room, I promptly dropped the almond croissant directly onto the floor. Almond-side down.

If it was my home floor I might have gone for it (What? I mean, IT’S BOUCHON!), but at a hotel? No thanks. (See? I have limits!)

Goodbye almond croissant. I wish I had gotten to know you better…

Other highlights of the trip included stopping at the scariest “gas station” known to man, with a sign that says “bathrooms for paying customers only” and then had LITERALLY like two things on the shelf. Apparently that tactic is working. Other highlights included being checked into a room that smelled like it had a decomposing body (or possibly a couple of bodies, or maybe just some strategically-hidden poo) in it. After trying to “deal with it” for an hour or three I finally gave in and headed to the front desk to see if there was another room we could move to.

Much to my surprise, the very kind young lady at the front desk not only moved us to a clean room, but she granted us a complimentary upgrade to a suite with a huge jacuzzi and a pretty decent view of the strip!

(Win!)

The best part of the room, though? It didn’t smell like it was full of dead bodies (or even just one dead body!)

Aside from Bouchon, we enjoyed an amazing dinner at Jaleo, and at some delicious ramen at Ramen Sora. All in all, a pretty good trip!

Anywho, while we were in Vegas somehow December started (HOW?!). So, now that December is here and Thanksgiving is history, let’s focus on Christmas shall we?

Feast Magazine released their December issue, featuring an amazing article on marron glaces from Shannon at A Periodic Table.

If you’re hosting breakfast or brunch and bacon is going to be involved, I highly recommend baking it in the oven. I’ve been following that method for awhile now and would never go back to a pan. I even use the oven when it’s just the Fiance and I. I can’t help myself.

Secondly, if you’re hosting breakfast or brunch and bacon is not involved, do everyone a favor and let someone else host, K?

I know you all saw last week’s cookie video, but NPR kicked it up a notch by teaching us how to engineer our perfect cookie. With science! And just in time for the holidays, too! Thanks, NPR.

If you’re wondering what NOT to get your best food-loving friend, Bon Appetit has a wonderful lineup of the 50 worst food gifts.

Speaking of gifts, check out this little girl’s amazing Christmas list (and her father’s reaction to it). Don’t laugh once. I dare you.

They put sriracha into vodka now, which I feel like is a bit much. I mean they’ve already got sriracha popcorn, chocolate, and even candy canes… WHEN WILL THE MADNESS END!?!?

I am in love with this Tumblr’s idea to make all of the burgers from Bob’s Burgers. If you don’t watch Bob’s Burgers YOU MUST WATCH IT! It’s great. I don’t care if you’re a grown up, just watch it. You’ll love it. It’s even on Netflix so you could probably queue it up RIGHT NOW. SO GO!

And I’m already eyeing these scrumptious-looking healthy recipes from Food52 for after the holidays when I feel all puffy and gross. Or maybe even before the holidays just because they look so darn good.

Lastly, a sleepy (but very thirsty) kitty.

thursday things

Posted on January 29, 2015 by natalie @ wee eats

When I logged in this morning I noticed an unusual amount of traffic from Reddit. When I followed the trail to the source I discovered this picture… featuring a League of Legends character running across my biscotti. And it made my mother-freaking day. I’ve been toying with the idea of getting into LoL lately and it might have just given me the push I need to start…

Other things that made my day this week include this tiny human who for some god-forsaken reason decided to turn Oreos into mascara… WHY ON EARTH you would waste PERFECTLY GOOD Oreos to make cosmetics is beyond me… Unless you wanted an excuse to to eat your eyelashes….

After the cronut and the cragel our slutty friend, the croissant, is at it again by now breeding with a cookie to create the “crookie”… WHEN WILL THE MADNESS END!?

Cheetos has created a sweet cinnamon snack, aptly named “Sweetos” which I can only assume is essentially a bag of cinna-twists (in untwisted form). I’m so down.

Although I’ve mentioned it with basil before, we finally have a definitive list of foods that will magically regrow themselves.

Scientists have found a way to let our astronauts enjoy espresso in space. Next up, maybe we will cure world hunger… but at least we found a way to fix space caffeine-withdrawal in the mean time.

The Super Bowl is taking place in my general vicinity this year, but I would be much more excited to score tickets to the Puppy Bowl. And by “score tickets” I really mean just roll around in the pile of Puppy Bowl pups.

And I could give you a super bowl round up but first I want to let you see this video of Will Ferrell blasting this cheerleader in the face with a basketball. I could watch this freaking loop ALL. DAY. LONG.

https://vine.co/v/OInOaJdglW1

Super Bowl Recipe Round Up

Pretzel Bites from Yours Truly (cut the ropes into 2-inch pieces for bites)

Hot & Cheesy Crab Dip from Foodness Gracious

Sugar & Spice Cocktail Nuts from Some Kitchen Stories

Make some chili to eat as-is or to put on hot dogs, or even some chili-cheese tots!

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Dip from FoodieCrush

Spinach-Ricotta Turnovers from A Periodic Table

Fig & Prosciutto Flatbread from right here

Popcorn Party Mix from Smitten Kitchen

thursday things

Posted on August 15, 2013 by natalie @ wee eats

Seriously, we have some of the best sunsets.

Unfortunately, it’s too hot to stay outside long enough to enjoy them. 😉

I know it’s still August, but I totally made a joke the other day to Shannon over at A Periodic Table about how we should start planning our cookie swap cookies for this Christmas, AND THEN THEY WENT AND POSTED THIS! Apparently, we really do need to start our planning! If you’re a fellow blogger, you should join in too!

Or, you could just send me cookies. That’s a perfectly acceptable option as well. 😉

I like cookies.

Also, I know we just talked about how I never pack my lunch, but guess what, I packed my lunch one day this week!

And guess what I packed! A pbj sandwich, sliced veggies, and chips. And a chocolate pudding.

Because I’m five.

And I’m not afraid to admit that it was delicious. Then I saw this post on how to pimp my pbj and my brain pretty much exploded. I mean, I’m sure we’ve all grilled or toasted a pbj before, but waffleizing and deep frying? That’s just madness!

I think next week’s lunch might be some pbj sushi…

That’s much more grown up than a plain pbj, don’t you think?

Also, because I’m five, the BF came home from the store super excited to give me this toy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZOH-zwBYcE&feature=youtu.be

The best part of the video, unfortunately, is off-camera. Why? Because every time Sully pops out to “scare” you, the BF actually jumps startled. Guess the “scare” ball actually works!

Also, did you hear that right now, in the United States of America, they are growing grapes that taste like cotton candy? Supposedly you can buy them right now! I have not seen them in any of the 2323894 grocery stores that I go to on a weekly basis, but according to the internet, they exist. Have you seen them? If you see them, please purchase them immediately and send me your thoughts. I NEED TO KNOW THESE THINGS. Also, I’m pretty sure that my weekend plans just became “hunt for cotton candy grapes.”

Know what else exists? Water. MADE FROM FRUIT. I know what you’re thinking, “They already have that, it’s called juice!” But this isn’t juice, but it is kinda, but not really. It’s juice and not juice at the same time. They juice the fruit and then they filter the fruit juice until it’s water. Which seems like a lot of work just to make water, but what do I know?

Continuing with last week’s rediscovery of podcasts, today I listened to my beloved Thomas Keller talk about the importance of weights in baking, and how to make the perfect pate sucree on the Splendid Table podcast.

Speaking of discovering things, I spent some time this weekend going through some old pictures. Like, really old pictures. And buried in those pictures was a “Baby Manual.”

True story.

And in that “manual” was this advertisement.

Because everybody knows that you should feed your baby canned lamb every day.

Obviously.

Sometimes I wonder how we survived this long, but then again… just look at how healthy and happy that baby is!

And then, there’s this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsBSZlKuHtw#at=14

That’s pretty much how I look when I eat corn.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Super Bowl Recipe Round Up

Share this:

Share this: