The Nifty Foodie

Tomorrow, I’ll be on a plane en route to Orlando, Florida for my first Food Blog Forum. Last year, I stalked Twitter and Instagram the whole weekend of the conference, and it sounded like everyone had a fantastic time. You really can’t go wrong with food bloggers and Disney. After reading blog recaps last year, I just knew that I had to go to the one this year. I was so happy to see the dates, because there were no conflicts. You see, this weekend is sandwiched between my husband’s birthday and our wedding anniversary. It was the perfect date to go without feeling insanely guilty for missing a personal holiday.

I’m sort of obsessed with all things Disney. There’s videos of me from a family trip when I was 3 years old at Disney World. I could see that while I was petrified of the characters (my reaction was OMG…Mickey is HUGE?! WAHHH!!), while at the parades and on the rides, I was beaming. Absolutely BEAMING. Even at home, Disney was the best! I was obsessed with the animated movies, Sing Along Song tapes & the books. Also, for the first few years of my life, my Uncle Brian had a picture of the infamous “Epcot ball” (as we called it) in the living room. He would point to it, and ask us “What’s that?” We knew that if we said “Epcot”, it would be a tickle war. So, I quickly learned other words…simply calling it a ball, a circle…ANYTHING but EPCOT! LOL! It’s one of the few memories I have of my uncle. He went to Disney World multiple times a year and had a killer pin collection. Disney was his thing. Sadly, cancer took my uncle when I was 5 years old, so I always tear up a little when I see the “Epcot Ball”…even as an adult. (Whew…I’m wiping tears writing this post. This is supposed to be a happy post, right?)

Anyway, it just goes to show you that Disney will always have a special place in my heart. Always. And while being at Disney World this weekend is a definite perk, I’m really looking forward to meeting so many bloggers that I consider my friends. While I’ve never met many bloggers in real life, I feel like I have a great friendship with so many of you. So, I’m very excited to finally meet and talk to those who are attending.

I thought it would be fun to psych myself up for the weekend by decorating some sugar cookies with a cookie cutter from Disney World. While decorated sugar cookies are usually very time consuming, I saw this post which made me think otherwise. This royal icing (originally by Sweetopia) eliminates the need for using both an outline and flood icing. It’s all in one. The consistency reminds me of a super thick flood icing, so while you can’t pipe many details, you can do a good basic cookie with this recipe. It took me three hours to go from cookie dough to decorated cookies. Crazy, right? I think I’m going to use this from now on for when I make multiple decorated cookies (especially for the holiday season). I’m so glad I found this! Make sure you follow this recipe perfectly, though (note: when the hand whisk vs. when to use your mixer).

Quick(er) Royal Icing
Source: The Way to His Heart, originally from Sweetopia

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup warm water
• 5 tbsp. meringue powder
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar
• 2 1/4 lbs. confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla or almond extract

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a mixer, add the water and meringue powder. Hand whisk the mixture for 30 seconds.
2. Add the cream of tartar, and hand whisk again for 30 seconds.
3. Add the confectioners’ sugar & extract, and mix with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer on low for 10 minutes.
4. Optional: add gel food coloring to tint the icing to the color(s) of your liking.
5. To decorate your cookies, add the icing to a squeeze bottle and pipe/fill the cookies with the icing. Allow the cookies to dry for a full 24 hours before serving.

About a month ago, the local grocery store started carrying Italian cookies (baked by a local small business). I’m a huge fan of Italian cookies…cuccidati, sesame cookies, anise cookies, biscotti…you name it, I probably love it! Since I missed out on the St. Joseph’s altar this year, I was definitely craving some cookies after I saw them in the store. Instead of purchasing them though, I wanted to make them. I’m stubborn like that, and hey, our church fair was coming up….the sweets booth needed donations. Any excuse to bake, right?

The only issue I’ve faced with Italian cookies is that it’s VERY hard to find a good recipe, since they’re almost always a family secret. Most of the recipes that I find on the Internet are very hit or miss, and I lucked out with this one (being a hit). It’s a soft, cakey cookie with a very subtle anise flavor. It’s enough to give a hint of anise, but not enough to make you think oh man, that’s too strong. You have to be careful with anise extract…too much of it can make something taste like licorice…it’s a strong extract! I loved adding the icing and sprinkles. I made mine in mint green and pink, and went a little crazy with leftover pastel non-pareils. They turned out so spring-y and fun! I tried one of these, and it was just so good! I bagged them up immediately so I wouldn’t eat a dozen. I need to make these again…or it’s probably best that I don’t.

Italian Anise Cookies
Source: Food.com

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp. anise extract
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 2 -3 tbsp. milk

For the icing:

• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 3-4 tbsp. milk
• 1/8 tsp. anise extract
• food coloring
• decorative candy sprinkles

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare the cookie sheets by lining them with a Silpat or parchment paper, and set them aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time, and mix well after each addition. Add the anise and almond extracts.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder. With the mixer on low, add in 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, and then add 1 tbsp. of the milk. Repeat with another 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1 tbsp. of milk. Repeat once more with the remaining flour and milk, and mix until the dough is brownie batter like.
4. Use a 1 tbsp. cookie scooper to make simple drop cookies. Keep a bowl of warm water handy to dip your fingers in (use your wet fingers to smooth the tops/sides of the cookies, since it is a rather sticky dough).
5. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes (they will not brown in that time, but they will be done), and then place them on a cooling rack to cool.
6. While the cookies are cooling, make the anise icing. In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, milk and extract together. Then, add in the food coloring of your choice (it doesn’t take much with this icing to get the color you want). The icing will be a little on the thick side, so it’s best to microwave it for a few seconds to make it thin enough for dipping.
7. Once your icing is microwaved/thinned out, it’s time to dip the cookies. Hold the cookie in your hand (top side down), and dip the top half of the cookie in the icing. Shake off the excess icing, turn the cookie over and place on the cooling rack. Immediately add sprinkles over the iced cookie (the icing sets fast). Repeat until all cookies are iced/sprinkled. Then, allow the cookies to set overnight on the cooling rack before serving.

Whenever there’s good news swirling around in my life, I get so excited. While I know I’ve never met many bloggers, I still consider a few of them that I “know” online as friends. When my friend, Krystal, announced her pregnancy, I was so happy for her. She already has the most adorable daughter (seriously…every time I see a baby picture on Instagram, I get a TEENY bit of baby fever), and I know she’s going to be such a great big sister. Krystal is sweetly referring to baby #2 as “cupcake”, so with that in mind, Eva of Eva Bakes had the idea to throw Krystal a cupcake virtual baby shower!

My contribution are a childhood favorite of mine: funfetti. My Mom used to make funfetti cupcakes all the time. I love the color bursts from the sprinkles, and the almond-y, butter-y flavor is just awesome! I found this recipe on Sweetapolita’s blog, and I think it’s even better than the boxed stuff. I never thought I’d say that, since I LOVE boxed mix funfetti (judge away), but oh gosh…this is a goodie.

Congratulations Krystal on your bundle of joy! I can’t wait to see pictures of the little one!

Check out the great cupcakes that other bloggers are sharing for her shower!

Funfetti Cupcakes with Whipped Vanilla Frosting
Source: Sweetapolita

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

• 1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
• 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 whole egg, at room temperature
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 2 3/4 cups cake flour, sifted
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 12 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into cubes
• 1/2 cup Rainbow Jimmies

For the frosting:

• 3 sticks + 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
• 3 tbsp. milk
• 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
• a pinch of salt
• sprinkles for decorating

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two cupcake pans by lining them with paper liners and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, add the eggs, 1/4 cup of the milk and the vanilla & almond extracts. Whisk the mixture well and set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt on low speed for 30 seconds.
4. Add the butter cubes to the dry mixture, and mix on low speed for 30 more seconds. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of milk and mix everything on low speed until the mixture is just moistened. Then, turn the mixer up to medium speed, and mix everything for 1 1/2 minutes.
5. Scrape the sides of the bowl, and then add 1/3 of the egg/milk mixture. Beat on medium speed for 20 seconds, and repeat with adding another 1/3 of the egg/milk mixture and mix for 20 seconds again, doing the same thing one last time with the remaining 1/3 of the mixture. Gently fold in the rainbow jimmies, until well incorporated throughout the batter.
6. Scoop the batter into the lined cupcake pans (filling 2/3 of the way full). Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cupcakes.
7. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, and then transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
8. While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting. Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix the butter for 8 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add in the confectioners sugar, milk, vanilla extract and salt, mixing on low speed for one minute. Then, turn the mixer up to medium, and fluff the mixture for 6 minutes.
9. Once the cupcakes are fully cooled, frost the cupcakes generously with the vanilla frosting, and add sprinkles for decorating.

I was a huge *NSYNC fan back in the day, and every year, I get a real kick out of the “It’s Gonna Be May” meme. Seeing it 2390859 times on Facebook this week made me watch the video again, and it reminded me of the days when I would get to drive my Mom’s minivan and would blast *NSYNC’s “Pop” CD in the old Discman (with the cassette tape attachment), since the minivan only had a cassette player. Ahh…how times have changed, y’all!

(Please tell me someone else attached their Discman to the car stereo with the cassette tape adapter…)

Anyway…it’s May (whoa..). And well, since it’s May, Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner. Usually the tex-mex places appeal to me with their food and margarita specials for the day, but lately, I’m not that much of a drinker since I started calorie counting. Give me ice cream over a 1,000 calorie cocktail. I know…I’m weird. We actually purchased alcohol on our cruise in December, and this is the first time I opened the tequila we bought there. We’re kind of boring in this house.

I’ve been wanting to make these cupcakes for a while, but the boozy aspect is what got to me. I can’t exactly do my usual baking routine of baking a recipe and bringing it to coworkers. I’m pretty sure HR would be at my desk within 2 hours, so I’ve never made them. However, these are for a celebration for a good friend of mine, and since she’s a big fan of everything tex-mex, I thought these would be the perfect cupcake to celebrate.

I ended up adapting a strawberry cupcake recipe by adding lime juice and zest, as well as brushing the tops of the cupcakes with tequila (which I found this idea on another blog). The frosting is a simple buttercream with strained strawberry puree, lime zest and of course, tequila. The combination of these flavors are just awesome. I hope she enjoys these!

Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes
Source: cupcake recipe adapted from Martha Stewart, technique from Confections of a Foodie Bride, frosting is a Nifty Foodie Original

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• juice and zest of one lime
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 10 oz. strawberries, hulled and diced finely
• 1/4 cup tequila

For the buttercream:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3-4 cups of confectioners sugar, divided
• zest of one lime
• 1 tbsp. tequila
• 1/4 cup strained strawberry puree (puree in a blender, put in a sieve over a bowl to let excess liquid drain for appx. 30 minutes)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and prepare 2 cupcake pans by lining them with paper liners. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the two flours, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer (using the paddle attachment), beat the butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl, and beat in the eggs one at a time, until well-mixed. Add in the vanilla, as well as the lime juice/zest, and mix until just combined. Put the mixer on low speed, and add 1/3 of the flour mixture (mixing until combined) and then 1/3 of the milk (also mixing until combined), repeating until everything is in the batter. Fold in the strawberries.
4. Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full. Bake the cupcakes, rotating the pan halfway through baking (at the 10 minute mark), for 20 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean). Immediately brush the cupcake tops with tequila (using a pastry brush), and then transfer the pans to a cooling rack to cool for 5 minutes, and then remove the cupcakes from the pan to finish cooling on the wire racks.
5. While the cupcakes are cooling, make the buttercream. Cream the butter for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add in 3 cups of confectioners sugar, and beat well until the mixture is sort of crumbly. Add the lime zest, tequila and strawberry puree, and beat the mixture for 2 minutes. If the buttercream appears to be too wet for piping, add more confectioners sugar (1/4 cup at a time), beating for about a minute after each addition.
6. To serve, pipe or spread the buttercream on completely cooled cupcakes. Enjoy!

If you put a bag of Reese’s in front of me, consider it gone almost immediately. It’s one of my vices, and I know I can’t keep that kind of stuff in my house. When my husband and I went shopping at Sam’s Club a few weeks ago, however, I saw Reese’s minis…in bulk. Ugh. I totally bought it, justifying that I would bake with them. Haha. Yeah…

Well, 1 bag mysteriously disappeared , but then I was asked to bake up a simple cake for my work’s birthday club. Every month, they have a cake to celebrate birthdays for those in the office who had a birthday that month. Previously, they would just buy a sheet cake from a grocery store, but since my coworkers know I love to bake, they asked me to do it from now on. Um…how could I say no to that?!

I figured a Reese’s cake would be a tasty one, so I made chocolate cake with a chocolate peanut butter frosting, and then topped it with chopped Reese’s minis. The cake may not be the prettiest (ugh…my cake totally stuck to the pan in the corners so I used frosting to glue it back together), but darnit…it was GOOD! I had to pour dish soap on the leftover frosting or I seriously would have eaten the rest with a spoon. So good!

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting
Source: cake from Ina Garten, frosting adapted from this post

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups cocoa powder
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

For the frosting:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 5 tbsp. heavy cream
• optional: Reese’s minis (chopped), for decoration

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 9×13 inch cake pan by lining the inside with baking spray or butter/flour
2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer, and mix on low speed with the paddle attachment until combined. In another large bowl, mix the buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla together. Turn the mixer on low speed again, and slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula, and then slowly add the coffee and mix until everything is just combined.
3. Pour the cake batter into the prepared 9×13 inch pan, and bake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 30 minutes, and then turn it out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
4. While the cake is cooling, make the frosting. Place the two sticks of butter in a clean bowl of your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment and cream it on medium-high for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Turn the mixer to low and add the confectioners sugar, cocoa powder and salt until well-mixed. Scrape the bowl down, and then, add the vanilla extract, peanut butter and heavy cream and mix on low for 30 seconds to incorporate the ingredients. Turn the speed up to medium and whip up the frosting for 2-3 minutes, until fluffy.
5. Once the cake is completely cool, frost your cake and if preferred, add the chopped Reese’s on top for decoration.