The Nifty Foodie

The past couple of months have been a whirlwind for me. I love to check the local news sites for random giveaways, because hey, you never know, right? While checking one of the station’s websites, I saw that they were accepting applications for a baking competition. I didn’t hesitate at all to apply, because it sounded pretty fun! A couple of weeks later, I got a call from someone at the station informing me that I was a finalist.

I was floored.

As one of the finalists, I had to bring cupcakes for tasting and an interview. Since it was just before Thanksgiving, I thought…why not pumpkin? So I brought these to the interview. Since my interview was one of the last interviews of the day, I think the interviewers were “cupcake-ed” out. I couldn’t really tell if they liked what I brought, so I left the interview feeling a bit unsure. However, a few days later, I got the call saying I would be one of the competitors! WHOA…

The person from the show told me that we had to bake a pie. Any pie, as long as it had some sort of holiday theme. When I heard pie, I have to admit that I cringed a little. I’ve mentioned this before, but pie is something I just haven’t worked with a lot. Cakes? Cookies? Cupcakes? I’m good. Pie? Ehhh…

First thing was first. I had to have a pie idea. I didn’t want to do anything too common, so sweet potato, pumpkin and pecan pie were all out. I brainstormed with eggnog and gingerbread, but nothing in particular really came to mind. Then I thought about chocolate. Everyone loves chocolate, but what could I do to make it more a holiday-ish. Then, it hit me….peppermint bark. Who doesn’t love the infamous chocolate/white chocolate/candy cane combination?

I started searching for chocolate pies online, and came across this idea for a chocolate chess pie. So, I adapted the recipe to make two pie fillings: one being chocolate, the other being white chocolate candy cane. Since the competition asked for the competitors to bake two pies, I simply put half of each filling into each pie crust (which is an amazing, flaky all butter crust…seriously, make this crust someday), and swirled them together. Then, I baked the pie up, tried a piece (hoping and praying I got the mint amount just right), and whew! I did. I brought to pies to my husband and I’s work asking for some tough love, and there really weren’t any complaints. Everyone seemed to love it!

I can’t wait to share the links to the show with you all (the show aired locally last night), but for now, here’s the recipe to my competition pie.

Peppermint Bark Chess Pie
Source: pie crust from Smitten Kitchen, filling adapted from Ezra’s Pound Cake

**makes two 9″ pies**

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. table salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed and very cold
• 1/2 cup ice cold water

For the fillings:

• 3 cups sugar, divided
• 3 heaping tbsp. cocoa powder
• 2 oz. of white chocolate, melted and slightly cooled (I used Baker’s squares)
• 4 candy canes, grinded in a food processor until it’s a dust
• 2 pinches of salt, divided
• 10 oz. evaporated milk, divided
• 1 stick butter, divided in half and melted (cooled)
• 4 eggs, divided
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour, sugar and table salt. Mix for about 30 seconds, and then add the cold, cubed butter on top and mix everything until the butter clumps are about pea sized. Drizzle in the ice water while the mixer is on low, a little at a time, until the pie dough is just wet enough to hold together in a dough ball.
2. Divide into two 5″ wide disks, wrap in plastic wrap and allow to chill in the fridge for about an hour or two (or overnight).
3. While the dough is chilling, you can make the fillings. Take out two large bowls, and add 1 1/2 cups of sugar to each, as well as a pinch of salt to each. To one of the bowls, add the cocoa powder. To the other, add the candy cane dust. Whisk the dry ingredients in each bowl.
4. In the bowl with the cocoa powder mixture, add in 1/2 stick of melted butter, 5 oz. of evaporated milk, 2 eggs and a tsp. of vanilla extract. Whisk the mixture well and set aside. In the bowl with the candy cane mixture, add in the other 1/2 stick of melted butter, the last 5 oz. of evaporated milk, melted white chocolate, the other 2 eggs and the last tsp. of vanilla extract. Whisk the mixture well.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
6. Take the pie dough disks out and roll them until they are about 1/8″ thick. Add each dough to a buttered pie dish (this is a fantastic tutorial), and then add half of the chocolate pie filling to each pie dish. After that, add half of the white chocolate candy cane filling to each pie dish. Then with a butter knife, gently swirl the two fillings (being mindful not to hit the crust).
7. Place the pie dishes in a baking sheet, and bake the pies for 45-50 minutes. Allow the pies to cool for a couple of hours before serving (if you’d prefer to serve it warm) or after they cool, refrigerate overnight and serve cold. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Last Christmas, my in-laws got me this awesome cookbook as a gift. I’m a big fan of Cook’s Illustrated’s recipes, and so I was so thrilled to unwrap this book last year. I immediately skimmed through it while we still had family at the house…I just couldn’t wait! While the cookbook doesn’t have pictures throughout, I have to say it’s a VERY comprehensive cookbook, full of tips and recipes that are well-tested. Whenever I think of a recipe I want to make in the kitchen, this is the first book I look to for a recipe, and it hasn’t let me down yet!

I wanted to try a new cookie this year for food gifts, so of course I had to flip to the index to find a chocolate cookie.  The original recipe calls for chopped semi-sweet chocolate, but I just had to use up the Andes chips that I had in the pantry. (I used both the creme de menthe and peppermint crunch varieties since I made a ::gulp:: triple batch of this dough..)

This cookie is insanely rich and fudgey…I could barely finish one without gulping down water! The addition of the mint chips makes it so festive, not just flavor wise, but color wise, since the two chips are green and red.

Chewy Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies
adapted from: The Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup + 1/3 cup granulated sugar (separated)
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup dutch processed cocoa
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. + 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup dark corn syrup
• 1 large egg white
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 12 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 cup mint chips (like Andes)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment or a silicone sheet.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and remaining 1/3 cup of granulated sugar for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Place the 1/2 cup of granulated sugar in a small, shallow baking dish or pie plate and set aside. Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together in a medium-sized bowl, and in a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the corn syrup, egg white and vanilla.

Reduce the speed of the mixer to medium-low, and add in the corn syrup mixture. Beat the mixture for about 20 seconds, until everything is fully incorporated, being sure to scrape down the bowl as needed.

Turn the mixer to a low speed, and add in the flour mixture, as well as the mint chips. Mix everything together until the dough is just incorporated (do not overmix), making sure to scrape down the bowl as needed. This should take about 30 seconds to mix. With a spatula, turn the dough a couple of times to make sure there are no pockets of flour in the dough. Chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes to allow it to firm a little.

Roll the dough into tbsp. sized balls, and then roll the top half of the dough balls into the sugar (in the baking dish or pie plate) to just coat them. Place the dough balls about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet (with sprinkled sugar halves facing up), and bake the cookies until they are puffed and cracked, about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway into baking. The edges of the cookies will have begun to set, but the middle of the cookies will still be soft. Be mindful not to over-bake these.

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, and then place them on a cooling rack to remain cooling. Enjoy!

This time of the year is just crazy. Sunday’s weather was well into the 80s and then Monday evening, the low was in the 30s. We had a party to go to on Saturday that I bought a sweater dress for, and of course, it was 70s/80s outside. I still wore the dress, but it was a little odd wearing a sweater dress with tights and boots, considering mosquitoes were biting like crazy outside. Thankfully, we’re in for a freeze warning, so that should get rid of the darn bugs.

Since it finally feels like December again, it definitely feels more natural to bake up a storm. This past weekend was the big holiday bake-palooza, and after baking up dozens of cookies, I just feel like I should be baking something every day. This cake is one of those things…I love baking bundt cake. They’re so pretty right out of the pan, which makes decorating them super easy. You can easily decorate bundt cakes with a thinned icing type of glaze or sifted powdered sugar. I’m loving the powdered sugar topping lately, since it looks like a layer of snow. So festive, right?

This cake is a recipe that I had bookmarked for a while (story of my life), and I thought it sounded interesting…pumpkin with oatmeal in a cake. I decided to add mini chocolate chips to give it a little boost, and it came out amazing. I had some doubts since this batter was SUPER thick, but the cake came out beautifully.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
Source: adapted from Erin’s Food Files, originally on Dine and Dish

Ingredients:

• 2 cups granulated sugar

• 1 cup quick cooking oatmeal

• 1/4 cup boiling water

• 1 cup butter, softened

• 4 large eggs

• 1 cup canned pumpkin

• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 tsp. cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

• pinch of cloves

• 2 tsp. baking soda

• 1 tsp. salt

• 2 cups mini chocolate chips

• powdered sugar

 Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. To prep the bundt pan, either spray it with non-stick baking spray (they usually include flour in them) or just butter/flour the pan.
2. Place the oatmeal in a small bowl, pour in the boiling water over the oatmeal and stir the mixture together. Allow the oatmeal/water mixture to stand for 10 minutes.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and sugar and beat the mixture for about 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs in one at a time, and mix until everything is well incorporated.
4. Add the pumpkin, oatmeal/water mixture and vanilla to the wet mixture, mixing on low until everything is well mixed.
5. With the mixer still on low, add the flour one cup at a time, and then add the spices, baking soda and salt to the mixture. Mix everything until it’s well incorporated.
6. Pour the cake batter into the bundt cake pan, and bake the cake for 60 minutes, or until a cake tested inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Cool the cake in the bundt pan for 10 minutes, then invert the cake onto a cooling rack to finish cooling. Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!

Since Halloween is officially over, I usually just eat all of the candy leftover from trick or treaters like it’s no big deal. Heck, that’s why I’d get chocolate…always. However, with this diet thing going on, I felt like I could totally do the whole portion control thing. That lasted one night…when I caught myself eating 3 Reeses cups the next afternoon, I decided ALL of the candy had to go.

Even the pumpkin spice kisses in the freezer.

So, I decided to make blossom cookies with them, but I didn’t want to do plain sugar cookies. I wanted to do something a little different and more festive. I know it’s not the holiday season yet (to the majority, that is…I’m so ready to decorate for Christmas…judge away). However, gingerbread is fall spice-ish, so I figured it would probably work. Um…yeah…this totally worked. TOTALLY. These cookies are a soft, chewy gingerbread and with the pumpkin spice kisses in the middle?? Y’all…I can’t even. These cookies had to get out of our house! Thankfully, my coworkers didn’t mind polishing these off.

Now, I know these kisses are a Halloween candy, but you may luck out at your store. I saw them at my local Target a couple of days ago, and right now, the Halloween candy is SUPER cheap, so if you love these kisses, stock up! I really wish Hersheys would make this a year-round candy, but I guess it’s better for my thighs this way.

Gingerbread Blossom Cookies
Source: cookie recipe from Taste of Home

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
  
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• Additional sugar for rolling
• Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kisses, unwrapped

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of a mixer, mix the butter and sugar for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add in the egg and molasses.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix until everything is well-combined.
3. Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out cookies and roll the dough into granulated sugar. Place the dough balls 2 inches apart on a parchment or silicone mat lined cookie sheet. Bake the cookies for 8-11 minutes, until puffy and lightly browned along the edge.
4. Immediately after taking the cookies out, press a kiss candy into the center of each cookie. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely. Since these kisses are a softer chocolate, you may want to place them in the refrigerator for about 10-20 minutes, to allow the kiss candy to set before serving.

I can’t believe that the weather is no longer in the 90s. I have been so used to leaving work, getting in my car and immediately rolling down the windows to escape the sauna. It’s so nice to wear long sleeve shirts, and burn spicy candles when the weather is actually cool. The highest the weather has been lately is the mid 80s. I’m so spoiled by this weather right now…I wish Louisiana was like this for more than a few weeks a year!!

In fact, it was the most perfect night for trick or treating a couple of nights ago. We like to give out candy outside, because just one doorbell will make Millie go batty. It’s just not worth giving her the anxiety, so we dress her up (ha…she’s fine with it as long as it’s not a full sweater or something) and sit outside with the candy. The families in our neighborhood just love Millie, and she loves the attention (unless someone wore a mask…we found out this year that she’s scared of those).

If you follow me on Instagram (username: niftyfoodie), you probably saw this last night. The little hat eventually came off, since she kept trying to eat the string, but she was pretty much the cutest pumpkin in the neighborhood (in my HIGHLY unbiased opinion).

For our coworkers, I usually bake something festive for the day. These cupcakes were what I chose to make: a simple vanilla cake with chocolate buttercream. I had to make a double batch, so I wanted to keep things simple. I ended up throwing some sprinkles in the batter to give it a festive feel, and they were definitely well-received. This cake leans towards the denser side, but the flavor was definitely there. This chocolate buttercream is pretty addictive, too and it couldn’t be simple to make. It comes together in minutes, which could be trouble…I had trouble resisting after having a spoonful, but I promise I did!

Golden Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream
Source: cupcakes from King Arthur Flour, buttercream from Savory Sweet Life

Ingredients for the cupcakes:

• 2 cups sugar
• 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups milk, at room temperature
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs

Ingredients 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
• 4 tbsp. heavy cream

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and prepare your cupcake tins by placing a lining in each well.
2. In a large bowl, add the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt and then whisk everything together. To that, add the softened butter and beat on low speed in a mixer, until the mixture resembles sand.
3. Mix the milk and vanilla in a small bowl and add that to the butter mixture. Mix everything together on low speed for 30 seconds, and then mix on medium speed for another 30 seconds. Scrape the bowl down.
4. Put the mixer back on low speed and add one egg. Once the egg is added, beat on medium for 30 seconds. Repeat this with the second, third and fourth egg, scraping the bowl down after each addition.
5. After the last egg is added, beat the mixture on medium for another 30 seconds.
6. Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners (about 3/4 of the way full), and then bake the cupcakes for 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
7. Once the cupcakes are done, place them on a cooling rack.
8. While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare your buttercream by placing your 2 sticks of butter in the bowl of a mixer and beat the butter for about 2 minutes until fluffy and light.
9. With the mixer on low, add in the confectioners sugar, as well as the cocoa powder and mix well. Add in the salt, extract and cream, and increase the speed to medium. Mix the frosting, scraping the bowl down a couple of times, until the frosting is light and fluffy.
10. When the cupcakes are cool, frost with the buttercream (and add sprinkles, if you’d like). Enjoy!