Mini Cheesecakes with Apricot Jam

Another of Martha's recommendations. :)

Ingredients

3/4 cup crumbled chocolate-wafer cookies
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound softened cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup apricot jam

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners.

2. Mix cookies and 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar in a bowl. Melt butter and stir in. Press 1 tablespoon of mixture in bottom of each cup. Bake for seven minutes, or until set. Reduce oven temperature to 275 degrees.

3. Beat cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, then vanilla. With mixer running, add eggs slowly, scraping down side of bowl. Add sour cream and salt.


4. Pour batter into muffin cups, filling almost to the tops.

5. Bake until sides are set but centers are wobbly, about 20 minutes. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

6. Warm jam in a small saucepan until liquidy. Strain through a sieve. Spoon 1 teaspoon jam on top of each cake.


- Jezebel

Pink Meringue Cupcakes with Raspberry Curd

I have found the Martha Stewart recipe section. It is a HUGE problem.

Valentine's Day makes me very ambitious, so I took on my most complicated project yet-- and it wasn't so bad! I watched the video on Martha's site, and I was like, "Yeah, I could handle that."

Ingredients

--Meringue--
Vegetable oil cooking spray (for baking cups)
6 large egg whites, room temperature (very convenient-- you need the yolks for the curd)
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
Red food coloring

--Whipped Cream--
1 cup chilled heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioner's or powdered sugar

--Raspberry Curd--
1 container (6 ounces) raspberries
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 large egg yolks
1 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 225. Line every other cup of 2 nonstick 12-cup muffin tins with baking cups; coat with cooking spray. You need to do every other one because these get EFFING HUGE and they will try to eat each other. I did not do this. And it was my misfortune.

2. Whisk egg whites, vinegar, vanilla, and salt with a mixer on medium-high speed until frothy.


Gradually add 1 3/4 cups sugar, making sure the sugar dissolves. Beat until stiff, glossy peaks form.

Mix in food coloring until pink (6-12 drops).


3. Now comes the scariest phrase in baking, "Transfer mixture to a pastry bag." I have the Pampered Chef piping gun and it's BEAUTIFUL. Get it. It will change your life. Although it does look remarkably like a trouser snake enlargement pump. Anyway. Pipe the meringue into the baking cups about 2 inches above rims, finishing with a peak in the center.


4. Bake, rotating halfway through, 3 to 3 hours and 20 minutes. (Cupcakes should be completely dry on the outside but still soft in the middle. A toothpick inserted horizontally at base of top should have moist but cooked crumbs attached.). Let cool completely.

5. Beat heavy cream and confectioner's sugar to make whipped cream.

6. Whisk all ingredients for raspberry curd together. They're so pretty! All the colors!


Set in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water until slightly thick (8-10 minutes). Strain and then refrigerate until cold and thick.

7. Carefully slice off tops of cupcakes using a serrated knife. (Run the knife just above the liner and slowly work your way to the center.)


8. Top each cupcake with 2 tablespoons raspberry curd, a few raspberries, and 2 tablespoons whipped cream.


Replace tops, and serve immediately.



Now the quantities are a bit off. I made 2 batches and came out with this much:


So ... yeah. I got 18 from 2 batches but Martha says you get 12 from one batch.

Also, side note-- they do not travel especially well.

Another note-- I have actually no idea how to eat these. At all. Most people settled on upside down with a fork, but hey-- however you can figure to get them in your mouth.

Enjoy!


- Jezebel

Mini Lemon Meringue Pies

These are effing adorable.

Ingredients

--Cookie Crust--
1 1/3 cups gluten-free flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup softened butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

--Meringue Etc.--
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup lemon curd

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375. Mix flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl to the side.

2. Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.

3. Generously douse muffin tin with cooking spray. Scoop spoonfuls into mini-muffin tin, lining the sides.

4. Bake 8-10 minutes until edges are golden, then let them cool in the tin for 30 minutes.

5. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until frothy (about 30 seconds).

6. Add cream of tartar and salt. Beat on high, gradually adding sugar until glossy and stiff (about 3-4 minutes).

7. Leaving the cups in the tin, fill each cup with lemon curd and a dollop of meringue. Should be about 1 tsp curd and 1 tbsp meringue.

8. Broil on low until the top of the meringue is golden, but not too long or they'll burn.

9. Let them cool, then gently loosen the sides to ease them out of the tin.

Tuxedo Brownie Cups

My dad LOVES these. He makes them for EVERY holiday-- Christmas, New Year's, 4th of July. All the time.

He goes on and on about how it's a secret family recipe, and that we can never tell anyone because then they would know that it's just whipped cream and sugar. (And by that he means, we got it from a Pampered Chef recipe)

Clearly there's more involved because I bombed these like nobody's business. I didn't have any of the equipment but they just seemed so easy...

Equipment You Actually Should Purchase Before You Try This

Mini Muffin Pan
Pestle
*Do not try making them cookie-shaped and then forming them into brownie cups later with the bottom of a shot glass. It will not work.

Ingredients

1 package brownie mix
2 squares (1 oz) white baking chocolate
2 tbsp milk
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup whipped cream (or make your own)
1 pint sliced strawberries

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray down muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray-- otherwise they will be trapped AND YOU WILL NEVER GET THEM OUT.
2. Make brownies according to the instructions on the box. You'll want them fudgey, so use an extra egg. Fill mini muffin pan 2/3 full and bake 14 minutes or until edges are set.
3. Once you take the brownies out of the oven, immediately press the tops with your pestle to make the indentations. Let them cool in the pan 15 minutes, then take them out to let them cool completely.
4. Combine white chocolate and milk in a bowl, microwave for two 30 second increments, stirring until smoothly blended.
5. In your mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and sugar. Gradually stir in the white chocolate mixture until smooth. Fold in the whipped cream.
6. Pipe the cream cheese mixture into brownie cups, top with strawberries.
7. Refrigerate 1-3 hours before serving.
   

Now, I tried to make them as cookies, then mold molten-hot brownies into cup shapes with a shot glass. Here's how it went.


Here are... THE ONES THAT SURVIVED.


I also didn't have strawberries, so I used raspberries.


Important display note-- use two raspberries per brownie. Just... take my word on it.

These were perfect for our New Year's Eve party-- no plates, no mess. And so festive!

I also made some cookies. 'Cause well... cookies.

Crownies

In a brief moment of indecision, I made brownies, rolled them into balls, and stuffed them into cookies. They're really tasty. I recommend Ms. Field's mixes for both so that they come out with the same amount of sweetness.


- Jezebel

Peppermint French Silk Pie

Village Inn makes candy cane French silk pie around Christmas, and it makes me believe that Santa does love me.

There are no Village Inns in New York, to my infinite sadness.

So I made my own.

And it was awesome.

It was my first pie, and I've totally caught the bug. Now I will make ALL THE PIES.

So, recipe.


Crust:
1 1/2 cups gluten free flour
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 stick unsalted butter
4 - 6 tablespoons cold milk

Preheat the oven to 400. Mix flour and salt, cut in butter. Add milk, one tablespoon at a time. Everything should be moist but sticky. Transfer to a pie pan, and form a crust along the bottom and sides of the pan. It will slide down the sides, so make sure to overcompensate there.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, and then let cool.


Filling:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup mint chocolate chips (or just extra chocolate chips and peppermint)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon mint extract
2 eggs

Melt chocolate chips-- in a double broiler if you're snazzy, in the microwave if you're not a tool. For microwave melting, go in 30 second increments, stirring in-between. Let the melted chocolate hang out when you're done.

Cream the butter and gradually add sugar with a mixer until well-blended. Stir in the melted chocolate, add vanilla. Crack and mix one egg in at a time, beating 5 minutes on medium speed each time.

Add mixture to cooled pie crust.




Whipped Cream:
1 cup chilled heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioner's or powdered sugar
Crushed candy cane and chocolate chunks for flair :)

You'll want to wait on this until you're going to serve-- otherwise it gets sad and deflated. Whisk heavy cream and sugar until it comes to stiff peaks.

Spread, fluff, add flair, and dig in.


It's the most wonderful time of the year...


- Jezebel

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Icing

I have been jonesing for pumpkin something fierce this fall, so pumpkin cookies sounded perfect. AND THEY WERE.

Fair warning-- these yield HUGE portions. I accidentally wound up with 50 cookies. Whoops.

Also, this is from a regular recipe that I then made gluten-free--- turned out really well, so I might try that more often. Thank you Sweet Pea's Kitchen for the recipe.

Ingredients (there are lots):
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick softened butter
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 oz. cream cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt-- set aside.

Cream butter and both sugars in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla; beat until creamy. Stir in dry ingredients by hand until combined.

Drop on cookie sheet in heaping tablespoonfuls. Bake for 13-15 minutes.

While they're baking, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and beat until smooth and creamy. I recommend using the paddle attachment stand mixer from before, unless you're really looking for an upper arm workout.

Ice cookies when ready to eat.

So, so good.




- Jezebel