Cookies, cookies and more cookies.

 

So, if you've followed my blog for some time now, you might have noticed that I haven't posted any sugar cookies since Easter. That's not because I haven't been making them; I have actually, although not in gross quantities, but because it felt almost pointless to share them on my blog here. The reason I say that is because I almost always use the same recipe and refer back to one of my original posts for it, and there's not much else that I can say about them. Unlike some of the cookie gurus who post tutorials on how to decorate different cookie designs (Callye from SweetSugarBelle, Marian from Sweetopia, Georganne from Lilaloa), I could never have the time or patience for the amount of work that requires.

So I'm going to share a few pictures of the different creations I've produced over the past several months, and hope that you enjoy!

I should also perhaps mention at this time that this past year I've started up my own little side business- nothing serious, just a part-time hobby endeavour. I mostly bake cookies for different holidays and events like baby and bridal showers, anniversaries, bachelorette parties, etc., and occasionally bake cupcakes and cakes. I love that I'm able to create goodies to share with others, particularly when I see their eyes light up and tell me how fab something looks or how good it tastes. It truly makes my day! And if you haven't already guessed, my little business name is Sweet Inspirations and I have a facebook page dedicated solely to it at: www.facebook.com/mlsweettreats.

 

 

Here are a few Mother's Day bouquets that I made- I had over a dozen orders for them! I think they were a big hit :).

 

 

 

Each bouquet was a little different, and a few were even customized!

A custom bouquet: this customer's mother enjoyed walking, gardening (water can), cooking (pot and spoon), and crafting/scrapbooking (scissors, glue, painting).

 

A bridal shower order earlier this summer. The customer gave me complete freedom to create whatever I wanted to! A little nerve-wracking, but I loved the results!

A wedding celebration of sorts order. I absolutely loved creating this set, because it was so personal! The mother of the bride contacted me and explained that she was having a BBQ in celebration of the return of her daughter from China. While in China, her daughter had gotten married. The mother explained that she wasn't a typical bride; she has a ruby engagement ring and wore a traditional red Chinese wedding dress.

Cherry blossoms and symbols standing for 'double happiness' and 'love'. I have to say, this font was by far the most time-consuming and labour-intensive font I have ever attempted. Each letter had to be drawn out to a point with a tooth-pick. It took forever! But the result was worth it.

 

This was my latest order, from a very good friend of mine who is helping to throw a baby shower for twin girls! The set was designed to match the invites, and I have to say, I love the simplicity of them! I was so excited to make these for my friend.

Well that's it for now! I think in a few months I will do a similar post. In the meantime, if you'd like to see some of the work I do (including some cakes and cupcakes that I don't post on here), please feel free to check out my facebook page (www.facebook.com/mlsweettreats). Pin It

Mini Whole Wheat Citrus Muffins

I made these muffins on a complete whim, but I'm so glad that I did! Actually, not a complete whim- I had read a blog posting on some mini oatmeal peanut butter muffins and was thinking of making those, although was a bit skeptical because I know oatmeal is significantly lacking in flavour. As I was breaking out my new Pampered Chef mini muffin pan a little booklet fell out, which contained a recipe for 'Lil' Citrus Muffins'. Although I immediately changed my mind to wanting to make these citrus muffins, I took one look at the recipe and realized that the ingredients would produce a 'muffin' much more close to a cupcake. The original recipe even has a butter-sugar topping for the 'muffins'! Frankly, it sounded delicious, but I really couldn't justify making 2 dozen secretly-cupcake-muffins just for myself. So I revamped the recipe to make it a little healthier!

These mini muffins were so good that I promptly ate 4 while they were still warm out of the oven. I'm not even ashamed to admit it. They are teensy-tiny and relatively healthy, and really, 4 minis is likely not even equivalent to 1 regular sized muffin. So go and make these!! And then stuff your face with them while they're still warm. Because trust me on this, that's when they taste the best!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup butter, softened
scant 1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt, or low-fat sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons orange, lemon or lime zest (or a combination!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line mini muffin pan with mini liners or spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; mix well.

In a medium bowl, whisk butter and sugar until well blended (either by hand if butter is soft enough, or with an electric hand-mixer). Add egg; whisk until smooth. Mix in Greek yogurt, vanilla and zest. Add flour mixture; mix until dry ingredients are moistened, being careful not to over mix.

Using a small cookie scoop, drop a scoop of batter into each cup. Batter makes enough for 22-24 muffins. Bake 12-13 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool in pan for several minutes, then remove and allow to cool completely on a rack.

Source: adapted from The Pampered Chef, 2006. Pin It

Blackbean, Chickpea and Grilled Corn Salad

As a pescatarian (vegetarian who eats seafood), I'm always looking for ways to get enough protein, particularly because I don't eat fish overly often due to the high cost. Apart from soy proteins, usually made by Yves, beans are my next go-to, and I've become quite fond of black beans in the last year or two. I never used to enjoy them much before, but I'd have to say that they're now my favourite bean! So most recipes that include them I'm willing to try. Add in something that takes under 10 minutes to make (apart from grilling the corn), and I'm hooked!

 



Ingredients:

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed well

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 green onions, thinly sliced

2 plum or vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped

1 yellow or red pepper, diced

2 corn on the cobs, grilled and kernels removed*

1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander or dried coriander to taste (I added somewhere between 1/4-1/2 tsp)

1 teaspoon grated lime rind

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (optional- I did not indulge)

1 small clove of garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

 

* to grill corn on the barbeque, simply brush each cob with a small amount of vegetable or olive oil, and place on grill over medium heat. Rotate the cob every 1-2 minutes, or when the kernels have begun to get charred. Once the entire cob is done, remove from grill and when cooled, cut off kernels with a sharp serrated knife.

 

Directions:

In a large bowl, toss together black beans, chickpeas, onions, tomatoes, pepper, corn and coriander.

 

In a separate small bowl, whisk together lime rind and juice, oil, garlic, and salt and pepper. Pour over bean mixture; toss to coat and adjust salt and pepper to taste.

 

While you can serve this immediately, I prefer to let the mixture sit for a half hour so that the bean mixture may soak up the seasonings. Ideally eat within 2 days, although it was still fine at 5-6 days later for me.

 

Source: slightly adapted from Canadian Living The Vegetarian Collection

 

 

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Cookies n' Cream Chocolate Cake

It's been a very long time since I last wrote a post, and before that my posts were few and far between. Most of you who follow my posts are likely aware that my lack of attention towards blogging was due to being in school and being rather busy. Well, I am happy to announce that I officially finished my Masters of Social Work degree at the end of June. Yippeee!!!! No more school for a bit [and yes I say a bit because I may pursue further studies down the road, who knows!]. As for the last month, I've started a new job as a Researcher Assistant [which really means a glorified student that gets paid -insert sigh and eye roll], although it allows me to work from home, hours are completely flexible and it's not full-time, which is absolutely wonderful for the summer. Come the fall I will likely look for an additional part-time job, but for now I'm enjoying the downtime. I've also gone through some significant personal changes in the last month that have thrown things a little topsy-turvy for me, so I'm just trying to get back into my groove now. Hopefully that means more blogging!

But enough about me, let's talk about this Cookies n' Cream Chocolate Cake, now there's an alliteration for ya. I've made the chocolate cake base that I used here several times now, and would say that it's tried and true. I made a small adjustment this past time because I didn't have espresso powder, and everything turned out just as delicious as always. The dark, rich and moist chocolate cake paired perfectly with the sweetness of the frosting, which by the way, deserves a platter on it's own. Now I love all frostings (although some are a bit too sweet for me), but this one tasted exactly like cookies n' cream ice cream, which I haven't had in years and years and now I'm craving... hmm that gives me an idea! Topped with a satiny chocolate glaze, swirls of frosting and oreos and you've got yourself one decadent cake.

Ingredients:
For the cake:
1 1/3 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
heaping 1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened to room temp
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temp
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temp
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon sour cream, at room temp
1 oz melted bittersweet chocolate
1 1/2 tablespoon milk

For the buttercream frosting:
10 oreos
1 1/2 cup butter, softened to room temp
4-5 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons whipping cream (1/2 & 1/2 or milk works too) depending on how stiff frosting is

For the chocolate glaze:
5 oz bittersweet chocolate
1/4 cup butter

Additional oreos for decoration

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 6-inch round cake pans with butter or shortening. Line the bottoms with parchment paper, grease the paper, dust the pans with flour, and knock out any excess flour.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. In a separate small bowl, combine the buttermilk, sour cream and melted chocolate. On low speed, add the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture into the creamed butter in thirds, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix the batter only until blended.

Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (my oven seems to bake things slower so my cakes often take a little longer). Cool for 10 minutes on a rack, remove from the pans, and allow to finish cooling.

To make the frosting, beat the butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and smooth. Add the powdered sugar to the butter and mix on low initially (to avoid a poof of sugar in your face), and gradually increase speed. Beat on medium high until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.

In a food processor, gently pulse oreos until they are broken down into fine pieces (not crumbs). Alternatively, you can chop by hand. Combine the chopped oreos, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of cream into the whipped butter. If the frosting is too stiff, gradually add 1 tablespoon cream into frosting until it reaches your desired consistency.

To assemble the cake, level the tops of both cakes, and then cut each layer in half, resulting in 4 layers. (At this point it helps to freeze the cake layers for 20-30 minutes to make it easier to frost). Frost the top of the first layer with the buttercream. Place the next three layers on top, repeating the first step. Once all 4 layers are assembled, frost the sides and smooth over. Reserve 1/2 cup of frosting for decorating.

I like to use a rotating cake table to decorate, found here, as well as an angled spatula for the tops, such as this one, and a flat spatula for the sides, like this.

Refrigerate cake. In the meantime, roughly chop the bittersweet chocolate and place in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave chocolate in bursts of 20 seconds, stirring after each time, until chocolate is melted. Cut butter into small cubes and add into melted chocolate, stirring until all of the butter is melted. Let cool for 5 minutes.

Remove cake from fridge and spoon chocolate glaze over top, allowing it to drip over the edges. Once glaze is on, return to fridge for 5-10 minutes. In the meantime, fit a piping bag with a decorative tip of your choice, and fill with remaining frosting. Once the glaze has set on the cake, top with decorative swirls and an oreo on each swirl.

Sources: Cake slightly adapted from Annie's Eats, who adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten and Martha Stewart. Chocolate glaze taken from Tracey's Culinary Adventures. Buttercream by Sweet Treats n' Healthy Eats.
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Mexican-style Black Bean and Rice Skillet

You know what I'm a fan of? Quick, simple, relatively inexpensive dishes that turn out to be healthy, nutritious, and down right tasty. Now when it comes to desserts, I'm often all about time-consuming and detail-oriented goodies. But this Black Beans and Rice Skillet just happens to be one of those easy and delicious dinners that you can whip out in no time, and have plenty of leftovers for lunches or dinners to come. This dish also just happens to fall perfectly in sync with Cinco de Mayo, which is just around the corner! Fancy that! And nope, I did not plan this at all!

I'm really impressed with how this dish has held up to reheating, and I know for a fact that it will now be in my regular dinner rotations. If you're looking for something to make- especially you Mommys out there with little time and kids hanging off of you... you gotta try this out.

Ingredients:
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 small-medium zucchini, diced
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
1 can diced garlic & herbs tomatoes
1 can black beans, rinsed thoroughly
1/2 can sweet corn (or about 1/2 cup frozen corn)
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
salt to taste
3/4 cup white or brown rice, cooked as per directions on package (about 2 1/4 cups cooked rice)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Directions:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When pan is hot, add zucchini and bell peppers; cook for 5 minutes. Add in cumin and chili pepper, stirring until mixture becomes fragrant; about 1 minute. Add can of tomatoes (including liquid) and rinsed beans. Increase heat to high and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, or until peppers and zucchini has softened (most of liquid should be absorbed/evaporated at this point). Add in corn and season with desired amount of salt.

Add in cooked rice and stir well. Add in additional seasoning if required. Cook for an additional minute, then remove from heat. Sprinkle with cheese and stir through.


Source: adapted from Ready Set Eat Pin It