Pear-Cranberry-Ginger Jar Pies

 I know I'm a little late to the pie-in-a-jar party but, I'm definitely hooked now. It's just fun to say "pie in a jar" it even makes me want to add "What will they think of next?!"

I upped the cuteness factor with fall themed pie crust cutters. I love how easy these are to share and when I want a bite of pie I just pop one in the microwave. I got the recipe from the aptly named Cutie Pies:40 Sweet, Savory and Adorable Recipes. And with a name like that how could I not check it out? The recipes are from the brick and mortar pie shop, High 5 Pie. It probably doesn't look any thing like The Pie Hole but I can dream.

 

These were so fun and easy to make. The cranberries smelled amazing while they were cooking. I even saved some of the cranberry sugar syrup for a later experiment. (I found a recipe for pear infused vodka)

Have you ever tried pie in a jar? What's your favorite kind of pie? Or do you prefer another sweet treat?

Tickled Pink Muffins

Hello, all! I hope you had a wonderful weekend.  I went a little crazy at the Farmer's Market over the strawberries. But, I needed strawberries for salads, desserts, and just for popping into your mouth! I saw this recipe on Modcloth's Blog and I thought I'd give it a try.

Tickled Pink Muffins
Makes a dozen regular sized muffins.
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk or non-dairy substitute
1/4 cup applesauce for a vegan option, or 1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 cup sugar
2 cups chopped fresh strawberries
1/2 cup of Neufchâtel or cream cheese
Pink sugar sprinkles

1. Preheat your oven at 400°F. Meanwhile, sift together your flour and baking powder.
2. In another bowl combine milk, oil, and applesauce/egg. Stir in sugar and mix until dissolved.
3. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, stirring gently.
4. While there is still clumps of flour in the mix, fold in strawberries. Work batter lightly until just combined.
5. Pour batter into muffin cups about 2/3 full. Add a teaspoon-sized dollop of Neufchâtel or cream cheese  in each cup. Sprinkle sugar on top. (I used turbinado sugar)
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Once the muffins pass a toothpick test, they’re done.

I enjoyed these muffins. They came out super moist though, maybe 2 cups of strawberries was too much? It's also been stormy and humid in my corner of the world.
Mr. K and I actually prefer them without  the cheese. I also had more than 12 muffins, and ended up making 9 mini muffins in my babycakes maker. Those actually came out muffin-ier than the ones I baked in the oven. This recipe is easily veganized and is all pretty good. If I tried it again I might use fewer strawberries to lessen the "mush."

What are you cooking up these days?

Baking: Peanut Butter Banana Bread

You'll need:

• 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar or raw sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 medium bananas, mashed
• 1/3 cup unsweetened crunchy peanut butter (I used creamy)
• 1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt (I used honey flavored Greek yogurt)
• 1 large egg
• 2 Tbs. canola oil
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used 1/4 C white chocolate chips)

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Coat loaf pan with cooking spray. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.
2. Whisk together mashed bananas, peanut butter, yogurt, egg and oil. Combine with flour mixture until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake 40 to 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Let cool, then serve.

This yummy banana bread recipe just might give my regular go-to recipe a run for the money. The result was a moist bread with a crumble-y crust. The peanut butter makes it absolutely irresistible! The recipe felt a wee bit indulgent so I was tempted to omit the egg. But I didn't want to do to much experimenting with the recipe the first time around. Next time. And it's okay to indulge anyway, this banana bread was protein packed. Yum.


recipe from Vegetarian Times 

Burger Brigade

Burger cupcakes! How cute are these? I made them as a belated birthday cake for Mr. K. (I know, shame on me). He also got a job at the University today so there was cause to celebrate!

I have to thank Smiley Sweets for the inspiration. Google "hamburger cupcakes" and you'll see all kinds of variations. I think these would be fun for a vegetarian barbecue/cook out or a spongebob themed birthday -krabby patties anyone?

I used Amy Sedaris' vanilla cupcake recipe, which can be found in her fabulous book: I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence and here, for the "buns." A basic buttercream recipe for the frostings and a chocolate cake mix for the "patties." I think Amy's recipe turned out fine, but I was hoping for a more "golden" finish. I snuck some mint extract in the "lettuce" for some extra flavor. I took a cue from Smiley Sweets and squirted just a bit of orange juice on top so the sesame seeds would stick. She also used coconut as the lettuce but, no one in this house likes coconut so I used frosting and food coloring instead.

I also used my brand spankin' new Whoopie Pie pan which made the cuppies come out perfectly for stacking. I love this pan. It was definitely a great splurge. I pretty much hyperventilate every time I enter a Williams-Sonoma. Besides the flurpillions of variations on Whoopie Pies and burger cupcakes I can see making muffies with this pan, too. No cupcake papers required.
Speaking of W-S, check out these star wars cookie cutters and pancake molds. Honestly, I'm not even that much of a star wars geek but, I am a sucker for this kind of thing.

And here's Mr. K enjoying his burger cupcake!

strawberry muffies

Today's baking adventures - I'm pretty darn proud of these pretty babies, especially since they began as a disaster. These started out as angel cupcakes with a vanilla custard filling. It seems that I cannot make angel cake cupcakes - the things just don't turn out right. (I tried, twice, I promise!) The custard was okay, but didn't thrill me.
I had some strawberry cake mix that I prepared. I had these muffin top baking papers lying around for awhile. (Ok, I thought the brown papers would look cute with the pink cake) After baking, they sort of reminded me of little tarts. A little buttercream icing and fresh strawberries and you have some delicious strawberry muffies! Yum. In the future, it might be fun to use cream cheese icing or mint leaves for garnish!

p.s.

How much do I want these "teacupcakes" cupcake molds from Perpetual Kid?

They're silicone (and phthalate-free plastic!), so you can back your babycakes right in the molds. Yes, please.

martha vs. food network

Easter Sunday + MIL's birthday = two batches of cupcakes. I made the first batch using a martha stewart recipe and a fun decorating kit I got from work. This was also my first experience using frosting bags and tips. I'm completely addicted. It's simple but, makes gorgeous cupcakes!


MS's recipe fell a little flat (literally) -easily covered with frosting but, a little disappointing nonetheless. Probably an error on my end. Luckily it didn't affect the taste!

In the second batch, I had to make some adjustments to the recipe. Pastry flour seems to be difficult to find around here. The cupcakes were more like bread than cakes. This combined with the walnuts probably explains why I was told the cupcakes tasted "healthy." Hm. I haven't decided whether that's a good thing or not. Picky Mr. K approved so, I would use either of these recipes again. Enjoy the photos/cupcake porn!