brown sugar & buttered popcorn cookies

One year for Christmas when I was still pretty young, my uncle put together a scavenger hunt for my mom. It seems like every year my family would unintentionally (or maybe intentionally?) pick a different person to really make feel special. No one ever had money so these special gifts amounted to a lot of planning and saving and oftentimes, good old layaway. My mom always played down Christmas - "Oh, there's nothing I need! Don't buy me anything. Don't spend your money on me." But I know secretly she loved to be made to feel special. Who doesn't? When my brother, playing "Santa," handed my mom a plain white envelope with no gift attached, we all sat a little straighter, curiosity playing across all of our faces. She opened it to find the first clue. We watched her run around the house, down into the basement, in the yard even picking up the clues. What's funny is that I don't even remember what my uncle got her that year. But I do remember the joy in our house and within our family on that Christmas Eve.

For me, Christmas is about those moments spent running around the house and yard on a scavenger hunt with a smile on your face as big as the lit and decorated tree in the living room. It's about the gifts that took you months to hunt down and brings tears to the receiver's eyes. They're the gifts that are homemade and designed just for that person. They're the ones like a whole box of socks because mine always end up with holes in them that still make me laugh when I pull them on 10 months later (undoubtedly, with holes in them). They're the ones that show you know who a person is and that you appreciate them and that the last year and one coming up is better because they're a part of it.

Since Zander and I will be out of the country for Christmas this year, I've been thinking about gifts and the holiday and what it all means to me a little earlier than normal. We still want to give gifts to our family and friends, and even though it'll be a more subdued celebration, I still want them to be thoughtful. Like maybe homemade cookies and baked goods, wrapped just so, with a bow and a note that says it all.

brown sugar & buttered popcorn cookies (aka- like popcorn, you can't just eat one of these!) from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

**i used kettle corn from an adult human-sized bag gifted to Matt and me so i skipped the first 4 ingredients and the first step.

2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1/4 cup yellow corn kernels 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup granulated sugar (i used cane sugar)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (optional - i used them in half the dough)
coarse sea salt for sprinkling (optional - i found it unnecessary)

1. Make the popcorn: pour the oil in a medium-sized saucepan and heat over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the corn kernels in a single layer. Cover the pot, but leave the lid slightly off to let some of the steam out. When the popcorn finishes popping (you'll hear it stop), turno ff the heat and remove from the burner. Drizzle with salt and the melted butter. Remove any unpopped kernels. Let cook. You'll have 4-4.5 cups of popcorn.
2. Make the dough: preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, and vanilla. You can do this by hand or in a stand mixer. In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk the flour and baking soda. Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ones, thoroughly mixing. Fold/mix in the popcorn. You'll have way more popcorn than dough, but it works! It's okay if the popcorn breaks up. If you're using chocolate chips, mix them in now, as well.
3. Bake the cookies: Drop heaping tablespoons of the cookie dough onto your cookie sheet. If you'd like, sprinkle sea salt on the unbaked cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes - until you see the edges turning brown. Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes. These yielded about 30 cookies for me. 

cookies and cream cupcakes with oreo cream cheese frosting

When I volunteered to make cupcakes for two colleagues' birthdays today, I don't know what I was thinking. I ran the Capitol Hill Classic 10k yesterday morning, and then needed to get ingredients and make homemade cupcakes. I was too tired to stand, let alone think through a recipe.

Zander came to my rescue when he suggested cookies and cream cupcakes. I'll let you in on a little secret about Zander: he loves Oreos. I knew I wanted a simple recipe, one that uses Oreos, and I wanted to top it off with a new take on cream cheese frosting. I couldn't find a recipe that met all of those wants, so I smushed a bunch of them together to come up with this one.

These guys are so good I'm almost tempted to have a second. And they're so simple to make, you can do it after running a 10k.

ingredients for cookies and cream cupcakes (adapted from Brown Eyed Baker)
makes 24 cupcakes
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks) at room temperature
1 cup buttermilk (or sour cream)*
2 large eggs at room temperature
2 large egg yolks at room temperature
3 teaspoons vanilla + a few drops
12-18 crushed Oreos 

ingredients for Oreo cream cheese frosting  (adapted from Foodess)
8 oz cream cheese (1 block) at room temperature
4-5 tablespoons butter at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla
1.5-2 cups confectioners sugar
12-18 crushed Oreos
12 Oreo halves for decorating

cupcake steps 
1. preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with liners.
2. using a large bowl for a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt (dry ingredients)
3. beat in butter (softened), buttermilk (or sour cream if you prefer, but I think the buttermilk adds to the "cookies and cream" texture and taste), egg and egg yolks, and vanilla. Beat these at medium speed until smooth and creamy - about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
4. fold in the crushed oreos until evenly distributed
5. bake for 20-24 minutes until the tops are pale gold and an inserted toothpick comes out nearly clean. let cool completely

frosting steps 
1. make sure your butter and cream cheese are soft. you can use a microwave to help in this process, but it's best to let them come to room temperature naturally. mix together on medium speed in a small bowl using a stand mixer until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes) mix in vanilla for 30 seconds
2. with speed turned to low, incorporate the confectioners sugar 1/2 cup or so at a time
3. with mixer still set to low, add in the crushed oreos until fully beat in. you will still have some oreo chunks - that's okay! if you want a crunchier outcome, fold in the cookies by hand instead of beating them
4. chill the frosting to thicken it
5. ice the cupcakes and serve with half an Oreo on top

*Baking with buttermilk: I'm new to it, and it's... interesting. It creates a heartier, thicker cupcake with a distinct texture and flavor. Some people die for them... It's growing on me. I liked it in this recipe to help create a cookies and cream effect.

Do you bake with buttermilk? What's your favorite recipe that incorporates buttermilk?

celebrating with chocolate peanut butter cake

A year ago this weekend, a cab driver told Zander that he'd be crazy not to go paddle boating with me.

We went to dinner at Zest Bistro, a delightful, delicious, intimate restaurant in a neighborhood that we don't visit often enough. We polished off a bottle of wine over dinner, and I remember thinking, "I'm lost in conversation," and getting back into whatever topic was at hand. I wore a pair of skinny jeans with black flats and a v-neck black top. Lordy, it was much warmer on that night in March than the same one this year.

After dinner, we walked down the street, past the lively bars and closing cafes, and Zander asked if I'd like another glass of wine before heading home. We stopped into one place or another, and we continued where the dinner conversation left off.

The cab driver that night took me home first. On the way I mentioned a few friends and I were going to try the paddle boats at the National Mall. We wanted to see the cherry blossoms from the water's point of view. I invited him, but he hesitated. He was remodeling his bathroom, and well, he needed the day to work on it. I hopped out of the cab, and he walked me to my door. We said goodnight with a hug.

A little downtrodden, unsure what I thought or what he thought or what I felt or what he felt - the usual way of those painful post-first date moments, I reached in my purse to find my phone to text a friend how it had gone. How had it gone? Before I could finish typing the message, my phone vibrated with a text. "Our cabbie said I'd be crazy not to go paddle boating with you, and I would. What time do I meet you?"  

To celebrate our one year this weekend, we spent the night in Charlottesville, Virginia. I've wanted to go, well, pretty much all year. It's more suburban and developed than I anticipated, but that didn't mar the beautiful bed and breakfast that Zan surprised me with, or the picturesque scenery on our way out to go wine tasting on Sunday. It was a weekend that I wish I could bubble wrap for safekeeping and take out every time I need to remember that time in our lives of cherry blossoms and new beginnings and the start of a Spring romance.

As part of my anniversary gift to Zan, I made a chocolate peanut butter cake that he has been drooling over ever since our friend Sarah tweeted about it. I don't like peanut butter because I'm a crazy person, but I gotta tell you - making a cake when you aren't even tempted to eat it is the best. All the joy of batter tasting without the guilt at over-indulging on the finished product.

Without further ado, the extremely time-intensive chocolate peanut butter cake, from Smitten Kitchen.

ingredients for the cake
Makes an 8-inch triple-layer cake (did you just say "holy hell?" because that's what i said!)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup canola oil
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

steps 

1. preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch-round cake pans. Line each with wax paper and grease the paper. 
2. whisk the dry ingredients - flour, sugar, cocoa power, baking soda, and salt in a large standing mixer bowl. 
3. whisk in the oil and sour cream. gradually mix in the water. blend in the vinegar and vanilla. next the eggs. make sure you're getting the bottom and sides of the bowl. 
4. divide among the three cake pans. it will be a light, runny batter! but delicious! 
5. bake 30-35 minutes (i baked 32 minutes, and it was perfect), until a toothpick comes out nearly clean. let the cakes cool in the pans for 20 minutes. 
6. invert the cakes onto wire racks, super carefully peeling off the wax paper (mine were still so soft that little bits came off). let them continue to cook. Deb suggested putting them in the freezer for 30 minutes to let them harden a little to make them easier to work with. yes. do this.)

ingredients for the peanut butter frosting
10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups (!!!) confectioners' sugar
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter (use a commercial brand so the oil doesn't separate)

steps

1. in the same large bowl that you made the cake batter and since cleaned (yay one bowl!), beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. 
2. beat in the confectioners' sugar 1 cup at a time (make sure to get the sides and bottom, as it'll stick)
3. beat for another 3-4 minutes just to make sure
4. add the peanut butter and blend thoroughly 

assemble and frost the cake 
build and frost the cake like a sandwich. place one layer of the cake (a sturdy one), flat side up, on a large serving plate, cake stand, or if you have neither of those, a pizza pan (for the win!). frost the top. place the next layer (your worst layer) on top next. frost the top of that one. place the final layer (hopefully your best) on top. now frost the top of that one and the sides. make sure you reserve a little of your frosting. let the cake chill (fridge/freezer) for 15-30 minutes until the frosting has set. then frost over your frosting with the remaining frosting (how many times can i say 'frost' in one sentence?!) to give it a more cohesive look. put your cake back in the freezer to let it set some more while you make the....

ingredients for the chocolate-peanut butter sauce
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter (optional)
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup half-and-half (optional)

steps
use a double-broiler, or set a bowl over simmering water. melt the chocolate, mixing in the peanut butter and corn syrup. if you don't want it overpoweringly peanut buttery, you could leave it out of this sauce, but i put it in. whisk it real good until it's all smooth and saucy. remove from the heat and whisk in the half-and-half. i forgot about this part, and mine still tasted delicious but wasn't as drippy and runny down the sides of the cake. use this while still warm.

final step
remove the cake from the freezer/fridge, and drizzle the warm chocolate sauce on top. make sure your cake is on a baking sheet to catch any runaway sauce. spread it evenly over the top just to the edges, so it's pretty when it runs down the sides. set it back in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to let the glaze and frosting set completely. remove 1 hour before serving. (i served it while the glaze was still warm, then let it set.)

this cake is delicious, but if you add up all the setting and baking times, you need to allow for 3-4 hours to make it. in summary? baking this beast is real love, yo.

I still have half a cake at my apartment. Who wants to come over for wine and dessert?

Beantown, frosting included

I visited my best and oldest friend, Mel, this weekend in Boston. In case there's any question of authenticity on this blog, I bussed up there - we're talking $80 roundtrip, 10 hours both way, sleeping with my head inside my sweatshirt because it was so cold, cost-saving measures. But it was worth it.

She and her boyfriend recently got a place together. Right after they signed the lease, they celebrated her 26th birthday. When she offhandedly invited me to come celebrate both at her new apartment, I surprised us both, I think, by saying yes. The last time I went to Boston was almost two years ago (why is time moving at WARPED SPEED?!). The morning I got there (at 5:00am!) off my overnight bus, she laughed as she hugged me and introduced me to the guy she'd been talking to for a few weeks and gone on her first date with the night before. Fast forward to this weekend, and I finally had the chance to get to know that guy.

With us, it's so easy to be reunited.  There's no pomp and rarely are there extravagant plans; we're at our best in PJs. We were at our best a lot this weekend. We baked, shopped, baked some more and talked our way through the two days we had together. As Mel said, "I'm glad this isn't a one time thing." That's exactly how I felt about the chocolate espresso cake we made from scratch, frosting included.