S'mores Cookies

With fall rolling along and a new set of people to try to impress with my baking skills (my new front end engineering classmates), it was time to head back in the kitchen and bake like crazy. Thanks to a brief break from our hectic coding schedules on Thursday, I was able to generate insane amounts of sugar to compliment all the caffeine we were ingesting to help us all work on our tachycardias.

Would my decision to forgo the traditional autumnal pumpkin spice pay off, or would my new computer savvy classmates call me a n00b and write me off?

S'mores Cookies
Adapted from The Brown Eyed Baker
Servings: 28-36 cookies
Time: 5 hours (inactive for 4)

So much goodness 

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour,
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 5-6 full sized)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 heaping cup miniature marshmallows
1 heaping cup milk chocolate chips
Additional milk chocolate and marshmallows for topping (optional)

Have you ever thought to yourself "There's now possible way cookie dough could be any better."? Well you were wrong.

1. Whisk the flour, graham cracker, baking soda, and salt together in a medium sized bowl.
2. Cream the butter and both sugars together in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes at medium speed). Be sure to scrape down the sides halfway through.
3. Add in the egg, honey, and vanilla until well combined. 
4. Mix the dry ingredients in with the butter until the cookie dough forms. 
5. Stir in the chocolate chips and marshmallows until evenly distributed. 
6. Roll the dough into a large ball, wrap tightly in saran wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours. 
7. Feel like a kid on Christmas eve as you wait for those four hours to pass.
8. Preheat the oven to 325 F. 
9. Roll up the dough into ~ 1-2 tbsp sized balls and place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper about one inch apart. Be careful not to have too much marshmallow per ball as this can lead to some weird looking cookies once the marshmallows melt.
10. Bake for 14-18 minutes until the edges start to set and the cookies brown.
11. Keep on the baking sheet and let cool on wire racks for 10 minutes. Then use a spatula to transfer them to the wire racks directly to finish cooling.
12. If you wish, top with melted milk chocolate chips (microwave for 15-30 seconds at a time until smooth) and a marshmallow. Let set in the fridge for 30 minutes. 

I highly recommend the super s'mores variety for minimal extra effort.

There was so much to love about these cookies, which I will place firmly toward the top of all cookies that I have made. The cookie base itself is a hybrid of s'mores and the classic Nestle Tollhouse cookie recipe with graham cracker crumbs taking the place of some of the flour and marshmallows fighting the chocolate chips for interior real estate. Speaking of the marshmallows, aside from adding some amazing gooeyness, they also caramelized nicely in the oven leading to additional unexpected deliciousness (but do be careful not to have too many marshmallows per cookie or they will look like a mess). While I made two versions, one with additional s'mores topping and one without, I would definitely recommend really hammering home all the campfire appeal with the additional toppings. Without much extra effort from making standard chocolate chip cookies (I know melting chocolate in the microwave seems pretty taxing), you can produce a treat that holds its own against just about anything else and brings you back to your childhood.

Hiding the non chocolate covered ones on the bottom.

Oreos and the Grand Rheological Study of Frosting

Recently, after talking to a friend, I was left wondering what I would sell if I could market any of my crafty confectionary crafts. As difficult as this may be to believe, my favorite treats to bake are Whoopie Pies and not Cupcakes, so I started pondering just how viable of a product they could be. While I think the flavor is top notch (especially the coffee version), they do have a tragic flaw in that the filling is far too soft for longevity and transport outside of being nearly constantly refrigerated. Clearly, the best way to approach this would be a comprehensive scientific experiment comparing how various filling respond to stress, shear, and warmth. Or I could just make two different ones, eat a bunch of cookies, and let my stomach brain decide.

Oreos

Chocolate, sugar, and butter. Yes please.

Adapted from Flour owner Joanne Chang
Servings: ~ 20-25 oreos
Time: 4 hours (inactive for 3)

Cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted

Fluffy buttercream

1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Buttercream Filling
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 2/3 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk
Pinch of salt

Your log of dough presented without further comment...

1. Whisk the butter and sugar together in a medium bowl until combined. Then whisk in the vanilla and melted chocolate. Stir in the egg until fully incorporated.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together.
3. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mix with a wooden spoon until a thick dough forms. 
4. Realize you forgot to add half of the butter, hastily add the rest, and pray to God it doesn't affect the final results, but vow to not let your readers make the same mistake by actually writing how many sticks it is...
5. Cover and set aside for 1 hour at room temp until firm.
6. Put the dough on a long sheet of parchment paper and roll it out into a rough log approximately 10" long by 2.5" in diameter. 
7. Laugh at what your rough log looks like because you are an adult.
8. Put the log at one of the edges of the parchment paper. Then roll it up and into a nicer log fully covered by the parchment paper.
9. Refrigerate for 2 hours. You may need to re-roll it every 15-20 minutes or so to maintain its shape. I highly recommend you just be lazy and roll the dice. 
10. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
11. Cut the dough into 1/4" thick pieces. Then place the slices on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and space them ~ 1" apart.
12. Bake for 17-20 minutes. Take them out when they are firm when touched in the center. Let them cool on the cookie sheets so they firm up slightly more. Be careful not to overbake them. 
13. Make the filling by beating the butter on low speed in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 30 seconds. Add in the vanilla and powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in the milk and salt until you have a somewhat thick yet spreadable mixture.
14. Put ~ 1 tbsp of filling in between two fairly consistently shaped cookies and make your cookie sandwich.
15. Prepare the other filling 

They look so lonely without the cream filling.

Let's start with discussion of the cookies. These were super tasty Oreo substitutes that were definitely worth the effort. I did find them to be a little salty, but that could be a major plus for those who are super into the whole salty-sweet combo (or you could drop the salt to 1/2 tsp if that's not your thing). The chocolate really came through, and the resulting taste was a beautiful mix of brownie and traditional Oreo. Structurally, the cookies highly resembled their Oreo counterparts, so be careful as they may be somewhat brittle if you try to break them or cut them up. The accompanying crunch was just begging to be counterbalanced by delicious creamy filling, and fortunately, we had two options.

Oreo Filling

Also the world's most delicious caulk.

From King Arthur Flour

Servings: just barely enough

Time: 5 minutes

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

Pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp cold water, or enough to bring the filling together

1. Beat together the sugar, shortening, salt, and vanilla until you have large dry crumbs. 
2. Add the water and beat until stiff but spreadable. 
3. This is best used by first rolling into a ball and then smushing between two cookies. 

Traditional Oreo filling that is resistive to the elements

The much fluffier and sweeter buttercream counterpart

Each filling presented its own unique strengths and weaknesses. The buttercream filling from Flour was by far the sweeter and tastier of the two, which worked wonders with the aforementioned salty cookie. However, it was still like any other buttercream and would likely not respond to warmth as well, although it did handle being out in room temp for an entire work day pretty well (and much better than my usual cream cheese based ones would have). On the other hand, the more traditional, shortening based Oreo filling was an almost exact rendering of the product we all know and love. It was essentially a brick wall when it came to heat and force to deliver the best prospects for future sales. Unfortunately, it was the clear loser in the taste department (although still quite good) as the buttercreams disappeared far more rapidly. With some tinkering, though, I think this could be exactly what I was looking for. Perhaps some hybridization of the two would provide exactly the balance I seek, or maybe some additional flavors being incorporated could sweeten things up just the right amount. Despite some remaining questions, this was a rare experiment where everyone came out a winner.

Engagement Mini Cherry Pies

Life has many milestones. From graduating college and grad school to baking my first cupcake to buying a dog, I had hit most of the important ones. But the biggie still remained. Following a year dating in college, the better part of a decade remaining really close friends, over two years of being back together, and moving halfway across the country to start a life together, it was time to make things with Robin super official.

After 10 years, these thought bubbles still hold (fortunately, my predilection for Lincoln beards does not).

With Robin's family medicine residency now over and her about to begin her new job as a full fledged smarty-pants Doctor, the timing seemed perfect to embark on the next phase of our relationship. Over the last ten years, I've been amazed watching her grow from a Freshman in college to the accomplished woman she is today, and I couldn't be prouder. In order to properly kick-off this momentous occasion in our lives, I decided to reimagine our first time baking together during our wonderfully awkward flirty but not together period circa 2011.

Would my cupcakey ode to our Cherry Pie of long ago be enough to convince her to spend the rest of her life with me, or did I totally misread this whole living together thing?

Engagement Mini Cherry Pies
Adapted from Table Spoon and Food Network

Delicious, if not overly romantic filling.

Servings: 12 mini pies
Time: 90 minutes

4 Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crusts
2 cups tart cherries
2 1/2 cups dark sweet cherries
1 cup granulated sugar
4 tbsp cornstarch
3/8 tsp-1/2 tsp pure almond extract
1 egg, whisked

I was going to prove myself to be a worthy homemaker, if it was the last thing I did!

1. Spend ten years being best friends with the awesomest, smartest girl around.
2. Realize that savings accounts are for losers, and buy a ring.
3. Freak out about how you're going to propose and almost ruin it until your sister calms you down and talks sense into you.
4. Look back on your fond memories of your first time baking together with your love.
5. Wait for her to go to work then try to make as little mess as possible in the kitchen for once.
6. Heat the cherries in a covered medium saucepan over medium-low heat until a fair amount of juice forms (about 5 minutes).
7. Sift the cornstarch and sugar together. Then stir it into the mix until well incorporated. 
8. Mix in the almond extract and continue cooking until it thickens, stirring frequently.
9. If it gets too thick, add small amounts of water. If it won't thicken up, add small amounts of cornstarch.
10. Let cool to room temp (or hide in the back of the fridge until she goes to sleep).
11. Wake up super early, but, whatever. It's not like you really slept much anyway.
12. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
13. Roll out the pie crusts and cut out twelve 4" discs. Press the discs into greased muffin tins so that they are just sticking out.
14. Fill each almost completely with your cherry mixture. 
15. Cut 6 thin strips to from the lattice of each pie and weave delicately. Press the ends of the lattice into the main crust to bring the two together. Marvel at how truly bad your lattice making abilities are, and make a heart-shaped one just in case.
16. Brush the tops with your egg mix.
17. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling. (Note: I found it quite helpful to pace around the kitchen while waiting. By 8 am, I had already logged over a mile in my kitchen alone.)
18. Somehow manage not to trip over the stairs or your dog and successfully carry the secretly purchased breakfast tray and its contents to your sleeping future Mrs..
19. Live happily ever after.

A Pictorial Proposal History

I had some painstaking choices to make. This proposal needed perfection and my lattice skills were not on point.

Oh no, the cappuccino foam was super flat! Proposal ruined!!!!

Luckily, I had two secret weapons in the book and the ring.

At last, a use for the My Mess Their Kitchen Game!

I'm sure Robin greatly appreciated not having to get out of bed for any of this.

Of course she said yes after those delicious pies. 

Maggie was especially thrilled that her parents were finally getting married (or maybe that there was food in the bed. We'll never know.)

My breakfast in bed proposal was a resounding success that will surely be spoken of for generations to come (I'm currently preparing the version I will tell as a crazy old man in front of a fireplace surrounded by our grandchildren during the holidays). The mini pies were just as delicious and even more whimsical than the first time we made the full-sized version, but, most importantly, she said yes! I drove myself crazy trying to figure out how to propose, but really all I had to do was pick something decidedly us. Unfortunately, proposing early in bed while living on the East Coast, meant we had to wait a while before we could spread the wonderful news, but we had some truly delightful cherry pies to keep us busy until then. 

Garven Good-Bye: Buckeye Cupcakes

Just as I finally began to adjust to my post-Kevin existence and started getting into my friend groove out in Charleston, stupid life had to step in. Robin's and my gender-reversed personality doppelgänger couple Chad (Robin's co-chief and all around medical badass) and Bridget (the real life equivalent of Leslie Knope) decided they needed to pull a Lebron and return to their homeland of Ohio. While this may make it more difficult for our shared future goal of having our hypothetical children Charlie and Charlotte marry one another to gloriously unify these two great families, Robin and I were able to finally come to terms with their leaving after much sobbing and boxed wine.  I wasn't going to allow them to make the long trek home on empty stomachs, so I got to work in the kitchen and whipped up some Funfetti Explosion Cookies and a cupcakey twist on their favorite hometown confection- the Buckeye.

Our hypothetical future grandkids really needs to hope Chad's tall genes are dominant.

Buckeye Cupcakes
Adapted from Food.com, the Brown Eyed Baker, and more All Recipes
Servings: 24 cupcakes
Time: 120 minutes

A giant buckeye ball

Buckeyes
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp shortening

1 batch chocolate cupcake batter found here (sans the Reese's)
1 batch peanut butter frosting also found here

My next great buckeye inspiration will just be dipping buckets in a giant vat of chocolate pudding.

1. Make a gazillion buckeyes (or 50). Mix the peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar together in a large bowl by hand until a smooth yet firm dough forms. Shape into ~1-2 tsp balls, and refrigerate while you make the chocolate.
2. Melt the shortening and chocolate chips together in a double boiler, stirring until smooth.
3. Use a toothpick to dip the balls into the melted chocolate. Then place the dipped balls onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes until set.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
5. Get lazy and tired of typing up the same chocolate cupcake recipe again, so make your readers do all the work. Make the chocolate cupcake batter. Fill lined muffin tins slightly less than 2/3 full with batter. Add a buckeye to each. Bake for 13-16 minutes until the toothpick test comes back clean.
6. Mix the peanut butter frosting together. Top each cupcake with frosting and an additional buckeye.
7. Hope this convinces your friends to return to Charleston soon.

I heard you liked buckeyes, so I put a buckeye inside of your buckeye.

This cupcake version of Inception was the reason milk was invented. My go to chocolate cupcake was solid as always (although oddly a little dry, which is weird considering all the tears that fell into the batter), and the peanut butter frosting was salty smooth decadence redefined. But, as expected, the buckeyes were the highlight burning brightest in this sugar bomb explosion. Having finally answered the question of what would happen if you supersaturated Reese's with powdered sugar, the buckeyes could make anyone want to move to Midwest even despite those crazy winters.

While we are sad to see them go, Robin and I would like to raise a tall glass of milk and wish Chad and Bridget the best of luck bringing their unique brand of awesome back to their roots.

My next big undertaking will be creating a shrink ray so I can run through a maze of buckeyes (and eat my way out).

Funfetti Explosion Cookies

June has been a pretty quiet month for the blog, but not for lack of working on it. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for a big, fun announcement months in the making! Meanwhile, I decided to get back to work in the kitchen and enjoy a stormy Sunday baking. First up, I needed to feed my crippling sprinkle addiction (see Pop Tart Cake and Funfetti Waffles) while attempting to recreate the magical childhood sugar rush that was DunkAroos.

Funfetti Explosion Cookies
Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction and Fresh April Flours
Servings: 24 cookies
Time: 4 hours (inactive for 3)

The most important ingredient in the world

Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk, room temp
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sprinkles

Frosting
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups Funfetti Cake Mix
6 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1. Cream the butter and and sugar together in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy.
2. Mix in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch and salt together. 
4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mix in 3 batches. The batter will take some mixing before it forms a cohesive dough.
5. Stir in sprinkles and look at all the pretty colors.
6. Wrap tightly in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. 
7. Watch tons of Netflix while you wait until you feel thoroughly judged by all the "Are you still watching?" questions.
8. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
9. Roll dough into ~ 1 1/2 tbsp balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 
10. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges start to firm up and brown slightly. Let cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes then transfer to wire racks to finish cooling.
11. Turn your attention to the ever important task of making frosting. Smooth the cream cheese in your stand mixer still fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the cake mix and milk in two batches until smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Then add the powdered sugar in two batches until fully incorporated. 
12. Frost the cookies and enjoy.

They're beautiful!

The star of this show was definitely the wonderfully colorful cookies. Sugar cookies can get a bad rap for being kind of boring, but there was nothing mundane about these soft, chewy delights. Chilling was key to produce beautiful cookies that did not spread into horrible mutantations, and they were definitely worth the wait. While the cookies were everything I hoped for, the frosting did not quite reach DunkAroo levels of amazing. The frosting has a great velvety smoothness thanks to the cream cheese, but the taste wasn't quite what I expected. There is an odd hint of pudding thanks to funfetti cake mix having pudding in it that distracted from the deliciousness. Next time, I think adding sprinkles to yellow cake mix would be a better way to go. Despite this shortcoming, I still found myself eating the frosting straight from the bowl (I mean it's sugar and cake, so even when it's not at its best, it can't be all that bad) and had to restrain myself from eating more cookies to make room for my second baked dish of the day- super secretive cupcakes (I imagine all readers now have unhealthy levels of anticipation and intrigue following all these cryptic remarks).

One day I will succeed and also be this extreme!

May the Fourth be with You: Wookie Pies

A long time ago in a kitchen far far away,

Kid Terry was absolutely obsessed with Star Wars. He desperately wanted to be Luke Skywalker and frequently reenacted the most climactic lightsaber battles when no one else was around. He beat the video games hundreds of times and studied every moment of the original trilogy even more. One day, he got the most exciting (and soon to be disappointing) news of his life. As a hopeful Jedi padawan of only 13, he convinced his mother to brave the barren wasteland and forty year olds making R2D2 noises of Tatooine the line for tickets to Episode 1. While this surely led to him not having a serious girlfriend until college, he was not deterred in achieving his goal of being among the first to see the film and continuing to work on his sweet lightsaber moves.

Now, with a new trilogy set to premiere later this year and surely erase all the bad vibes from the prequels our now much older and far more dashing hero must find a way to make this Star Wars Day epic. Knowing this would require becoming one with the force and channeling the spirits of warriors past Yoda, Chewbacca, and Darth Vader, Terry sought out the help of rebel kitchen alliance leader Kathryn to properly pay tribute to one of the greatest influences of his childhood...

Darth Vader
Adapted from Alton Brown and Sprinkles Cupcakes
Time: 120 minutes (inactive for 60)
Servings: 8-12 wookie pies

Even when finished it still looks like melted chocolate

Cookies
6 oz. 54% bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 3/4 oz. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp
6 oz. light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temp
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 oz. 70% bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

No one ever said the dark side would be this delicious

Filling
1/2 cup strawberries, pureed
2 sticks unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
Pinch of coarse salt
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tsp vanilla extract
Thinly chopped strawberries, optional

All too easy...

1. Embrace the dark side.
2. Melt the 54% and unsweetened chocolates together in a medium glass bowl over two 30 second intervals, stirring in between. If additional melting is necessary, heat 10 second at a time until smooth. Set aside and let cool for ~15 minutes.
3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl.
4. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
5. Beat the eggs and vanilla together in a small bowl. Add to the creamed mixture on low speed until fully incorporated. 
6. Pour in the melted chocolate and mix to combine. 
7. Add in the flour mixture and stir until just incorporated. 
8. Fold in the 70% chocolate. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
9. Make the filling by beating the butter and salt together in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the confectioner's sugar one cup at a time until smooth. Mix in 3 tbsp of pureed strawberries and the vanilla at low speed. Fold in extra strawberries if desired. Be careful not to overdue it on the strawberry puree or you'll get some ugly curdling.
10. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
11. If you're trying to make awesome shapes, roll the chilled dough about 1/4"-1/2" thick. Lightly flour your cookie cutter and carefully press and remove each shape. If not, roll into balls and flatten then lay the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Bake for 10-14 minutes until the edges are done.
12. Let set on the baking sheets for 3-5 minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool.
13. Assemble whoopie pies with frosting in the middle.

Now presenting- the just as intimidating and slightly melted looking Vader

First up, we had our ultimate bad boy Darth Vader inspired wookie pies that fell into the dark side (of chocolate) and wielded a fierce red strawberry buttercream. The cookies themselves had a fudge-like quality and really brought out the best of dark chocolate, while the sweet filling was bursting with strawberry flavor and countered the darkness magnificently. Of all our efforts, these were the most like a traditional whoopie pie.

I would easily (Darth) Maul someone to get my hands on these.

Yoda
Adapted from Real House Moms and Alton Brown
Time: 120 minutes (inactive for 60)
Servings: 12-16 Yoda-sized wookie pies

Is it guac or frosting? It's a trap!

Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp lime juice
2 tsp lime zest
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups all-purpose flour

Filling
4 avocados, pitted and peeled
2-3 tbsp lime juice
1/2 lb powdered sugar, sifted
2-4 heaping tbsp cool whip

Eat you, I will.

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Whisk the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
4. Mix in the egg, vanilla, lime juice, and lime zest.
5. Slowly add in the flour, one cup at a time, until just incorporated. 
6. Refrigerate for 60 minutes. 
7. Make the filling by beating the avocado and lime juice together using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer until it lightens in color (about 2 minutes). Add the powdered sugar gradually and beat until smooth. Adjust the lime juice to your desired level. Mix in cool-whip and set aside in the fridge. 
8. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4"-1/2" thick and cut out using a floured cookie cutter, or roll into a long tube and cut ~1/4 to 1/2 inch thick slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mats. 
9. Bake for 13-15 minutes, rotating once halfway through, until the edges just start to brown.
10. Assemble the wookie pies with avocado frosting in the middle.
11. Ready for adventure, you must be.

The force is strong with these ones.

Much like Luke deciding to trust a 2 foot tall bald troll doll with grammar issues with his training, our decision to make Yoda themed cookies was a big risk that paid off huge. With a little additional inspiration from the other big day of the week (Cinco de Mayo), Kathryn and I settled on an appropriately colored lime and avocado combo. The lime flavor was strong and paired nicely with the creamy avocado filling for the most unique wookie pie in the galaxy that gives a new hope to the future of desserts.

It's like you're staring straight into the heart of Dagobah.

Chewbacca
Adapted from the previously seen Super Bowl Whoopie Pies
Time: 60 minutes
Servings: 8-12 wookie pies

1 batch Chocolate Coffee Cookies (with 1 tsp extra ground espresso)
1 batch Coffee Cream Cheese Frosting (with 7 total tbsp espresso and 1 tsp vanilla)

Look at how happy Chewie is! He clearly knows he has a delicious future ahead of him.

1. Be tired of writing up recipes, and be thankful that you already had this one under your belt.
2. Don't even bother trying to make awesome shapes with this batter. Also, I highly recommend using silicone mats for these so they maintain some height and don't spread as much.

These aren't the shapes you're looking for...

Seeing as I have been perfecting this recipe since right after the inception of the blog, it should come as no surprise that these were the best of the day. This batter is the most unruly of the bunch, so I was fully expecting bad results with the cookie cutters, but none of that mattered once the powerful coffee aroma filled the air. Just like their imposing wookie namesake, these made their presence known in a big way. In the end, these remained the Empire Strikes Back of whoopie pies.

Frosting fixes everything- ugly cookies, wampa rampages, carbonite imprisonment...

It's important to find excuses to ingest your weight in sugar celebrate all of the important things in life. As part of my new life in a new city, I'm making a point to bake more for all the big occasions like New Year's, Easter, six month puppyversaries, and Pi Day (my apologies to Arbor Day-maybe next year). My day of baking Wookie Pies with Kathryn was by far the most ambitious and quite possibly the best. Now, just 7 more months of building up insane amounts of hype in my brain until The Force Awakens. Hopefully, with the help of new baking buddy Kathryn, I just might make it.

Do or do not. There is no try.

Cupcake-palooza '15: Vanilla Buttermilk Nutella Cupcakes

Recently, I have felt strongly compelled to return to the humble beginnings of my baking dreams and reignited my love of cupcakery. In the month of April alone, I have managed to make as many cupcake posts (see also Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes and Hummingbird Cupcakes) as I did in the previous two years. While this resurgence of living a hard life of cupcaking is likely an attempt to assert my alpha maleness on my new city (bad bakers 4 life!), it has been a most welcome one amongst my friends and coworkers. This past weekend, we hosted a party for the residents in Robin's program and I knew exactly what baked goodness I needed to contribute to the festivities.

Vanilla Buttermilk Nutella Cupcakes
Modified Heavily from Martha Stewart
Servings: 36 cupcakes
Time: 45 minutes

Crazy thin batter

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs, plus 2 large egg yolks
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tsp pure vanilla extract
Nutella (lots of it)
1 batch Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting
Awesome sprinkles

As you can see, I was very scientific and precise with my Nutella spoonfuls.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. 
2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
3. Mix the eggs, water, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract together in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones in 2-3 increments. Mix until well incorporated.
5. Fill lined muffin tins 2/3 full with batter. Top with a spoonful of Nutella in the center.
6. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the toothpick test comes out clean.
7. Make the single greatest use of sugar in all of existence, Nutella cream cheese frosting. Stick to the lower end of powdered sugar if using actual Nutella. 
8. Sprinkle until your inner child is satisfied and enjoy.

The Nutella is practically teasing you with just a hint of its presence.

Nutella is the single greatest weapon someone could have to make simple desserts seem amazingly rich and complex. The vanilla buttermilk cupcakes themselves were nicely moist and bouncy (thanks to employing my current obsession of using oil over butter and the super aerating buttermilk), but they would have benefited from a little more vanilla. Fortunately the gooey Nutella center instantly catapults the cake into rarified air. Even with all those great components, everything plays second fiddle to the Nutella cream cheese frosting (which managed to entrap Robin in its Siren spell). This frosting is the stuff of dreams (to quote our friend Bridget), and has proven to yet again to be the best use of sugar that I have ever found (see Cafe du Monde Cupcakes). In the end, these cupcakes were essentially a grown-up flavor blasted version of everyone's favorite yellow cake with chocolate frosting that is sure to have you and your guests salivating for more.

If for some reason you do not have a cupboard full of sprinkles, feel free to improvise and use fruit instead.