The Year of Living Audaciously

Former food blog, now travel blog - following my year as a Fulbright ETA in Indonesia

Peanut Butter S’mores Bars

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At Spencer’s request I made these yummy bars 🙂 They were very easy and quite delicious! 

Peanut Butter S’mores Bars
(Recipe from The Sweet Life)


Makes: 16 large/20 small squares

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 16 peanut butter cups, regular size
  • 1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8×8 baking dishing with parchment paper; coat lightly with cooking spray (don’t forget the sides).
  2. In a large bowl of the bowl of stand mixer, beat butter and sugars until fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla until combined.  Scrape down the sides.  With the mixer on low, stir in the flour, baking powder, salt, and graham cracker crumbs until mixed.
  3. Spread 2/3 of the dough on the bottom of the prepared baking dish.  Lightly press the peanut butter cups into the dough, then spread marshmallow fluff on top.  Press the remaining dough on a non-stick surface into the shape of an 8×8 square.  Place the square on top of the fluff and press down lightly.
  4. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the edges just begin to brown.  Allow to cool for at least two hours* to give the bars a chance to set, then remove from the pan and cut into squares with a large, sharp knife.



*We only let them sit for an hour or so because we were too hungry 🙂 They were great warm but also very good the next day once they had set in the refridgerator.

Strawberry Shortcakes with Lemon Cream

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Made these for our first BBQ of the summer! They were delicious! A perfect summer dessert!



Strawberry Shortcakes with Lemon Cream
(Recipe from Food and Wine Magazine)


Recipe says it makes 6 – but it made 8 for me. Granted mine were probably smaller than the recipe called for. 

BISCUITS

  1. 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  2. 3/4 cup cake flour
  3. 3 tablespoons sugar
  4. 2 teaspoons baking powder
  5. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  6. 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed, plus 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter
  7. 1 cup heavy cream
  8. 1 1/2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (buy it – it’s totally worth it! Makes them really good!)

LEMON CREAM

  1. Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
  2. 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, preferably from Meyer lemons
  3. 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
  4. 1 large egg
  5. 1 large egg yolk
  6. Pinch of salt
  7. 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  8. 1 cup heavy cream

STRAWBERRIES

  1. 2 pints strawberries, quartered
  2. 2 tablespoons sugar
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large bowl, whisk the all-purpose and cake flours with the sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the cold butter until it is the size of small peas. Stir in the cream until a shaggy dough forms.
  2. Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and knead 2 or 3 times, just until it comes together. Roll the dough into a 7-inch round, about 3/4 inch thick. Using a 2 3/4-inch or 3-inch biscuit cutter (or a cup!), stamp out 5 biscuits. Gently gather the scraps and reroll them; cut out 1 more round so you have a total of 6 biscuits.
  3. Transfer the biscuits to a baking sheet and brush with the melted butter. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar on top and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the biscuits are golden. Let cool.
  4. Set a strainer over a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, combine half of the lemon zest with the lemon juice, sugar, egg, egg yolk, salt and 1 tablespoon of the butter. Cook over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Immediately strain the curd into the bowl. Whisk in the remaining lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of butter. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface and refrigerate until cool, about 15 minutes.
  5. In a medium bowl, softly whip the cream. Fold the lemon curd into the whipped cream and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
  6. In a medium bowl, toss the strawberries with the sugar and let stand for 15 minutes.
  7. Split the biscuits in half and arrange the bottom halves on plates. Mound the lemon cream on the biscuits, top with the strawberries and their juices and replace the tops. Serve right away.
MAKE AHEAD The biscuits can be stored in an airtight container overnight. Recrisp them in a warm oven and let cool before serving. The lemon curd can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. The lemon cream can be refrigerated for up to 2 hours.

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

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I’m on a baking spree! I’ve only got a floor full of hungry college students for two more days so I’m taking advantage of it while I can!

I had some left over cookie dough in my freezer so I thought I’d try combining my favorites – cookie dough and cupcakes!

Cookie Dough Cupcakes
(idea from Ice Cream Before Dinner)

Frozen cookie dough – you don’t need too much, maybe 10 cookies worth?
Vanilla cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil
Frosting

First, thaw your cookie dough so that you can reform it into little balls – about the size of a marble, maybe just a little bigger. And then refreeze.

I cheated and used a cake mix (sorry!!) but it was quicker and I could use my meal points. Make the cupcakes according to the instructions on the box and then when you fill the cupcake liners, do just a little bit less than normal. Not too much, but the cookie dough ball will take up some of the volume. Plop a cookie dough ball right in the middle and bake for 18-21 minutes!

They should come out looking just like normal cupcakes and your guests will have no idea what surprise is in store for them! Once cooled, frost the cupcakes (again I just used a store bought :/) and garnish with some cookie crumbs! (I baked the left over cookie dough and then broke up the cookies to put on top)

Nutella Cheesecake Bars

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I leave for home in 4 days! In the meantime, I have lots of meal points to spend and lots of time to procrastinate from studying! I saw this recipe from Tide and Thyme and remembered that the little grocery store on campus (where you can use meal points) sells Nutella, cream cheese and mini Oreos! Perfecto!

NUTELLA CHEESECAKE BARS

Nutella Cheesecake Bars
Recipe Type: Dessert
Author: Mackenzie
Serves: 16 bars
Recipe from Tide and Thyme
Ingredients
  • 2 cups Oreo crumbs (1 8oz pgk of mini oreo bites is equivalent)
  • 1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
  • 16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup Nutella
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter an 8×8 baking dish and line with parchment paper, making sure that the parchment is well pressed into the corners. Set aside.
  2. Now you can do this two ways 1) with a food processor or 2) with a mixer. The original recipe calls for a food processor but as I am limited on cooking items in my dorm kitchen I just used my hand mixer.
  3. In a food processor, pulse Oreos until they become crumbs or crush the Oreos in a Ziploc bag. Add melted butter to food processor and pulse until moistened or put the Oreos and the melted butter in a bowl and combine until moistened. Press Oreo mixture evenly into the bottom of your baking dish. Bake crust until set, about 12 minutes. Set aside to cool.
  4. Clean out the food processor or bowl. Add cream cheese, eggs, sugar, ¼ cup heavy cream, and vanilla. Pulse or beat until smooth. Put 2/3 of the cream cheese mixture in a bowl and set aside. Add Nutella and 1 tablespoon of heavy cream to the remaining 1/3 cream cheese mixture in the processor or bowl and pulse or beat until smooth.
  5. To assemble: spread the plain cheesecake mixture over the cooled Oreo crust, being careful not to upset the crust. Pour the Nutella cheesecake layer on top of the plain cheesecake layer and spread evenly. Be careful to pour the Nutella part all over so you don’t mess up the layers when making it even. Bake on the center rack of the oven for about 35 minutes, or until the center jiggles slightly. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a cooling rack. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

NUTELLA CHEESECAKE BARS

Angel Food Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

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I know. How perfectly amazing does that sound?

It’s getting pretty warm here in St. Louis and that makes me excited for summer – which makes me excited for yummy summer treats! And what is more summery than angel food cake?

Well, I thought I’d try making angel food cupcakes since I had never heard of anybody making them before! They turned out great! Especially with the strawberry buttercream 🙂

Angel Food Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

Cupcakes:
1 box angel food cake
Strawberry jam

Strawberry Buttercream:
(Recipe from Baked Perfection)

2 sticks of butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup strawberry filling (strawberry jam or preserves can be substituted)
pinch of salt
6 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk
Fresh strawberries for garnish

I used a box of angel food cake (gasp! sorry, limited on baking ingredients in my dorm) and just poured them into the muffin tins. Be sure to use cupcake liners! It gets sticky!

Optional, but amazing – fill the cupcakes with strawberry jellly!
Once cupcakes are cooled, use a teaspoon to scoop out a hole in the top of the cupcake. Take that part out but keep it, no eating! Scoop some jelly into the hole and cover it up with the top! Now frost the cupcakes!

Then for the buttercream,
Beat butter and vanilla until creamy. Mix in strawberry filling and salt. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency.

Top with fresh strawberries!

Best Ever Peanut Butter Banana Bread

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Peanut Butter Banana Bread – 1 loaf (1/4 loaf)

1 cup (1/4 cup) brown sugar
2/3 cup (1/6 cup) of organic peanut butter
4 Tbsp (2 Tbsp) strawberry yogurt split in two
1 cup (1/4 cup) mashed banana (1 small banana for the 1/4 loaf)
1 2/3 cup (1/4 plus 1/6) cup of flour
1 tsp (1/4 tsp) baking soda
1/4 tsp (pinch) of baking powder
1/4 tsp (pinch) of salt

Preheat oven 350° F. Grease and flour a 1-pound loaf pan. In a large bowl, beat sugar and peanut butter until fluffy. Beat in 2 tablespoons of the yogurt until blended then add bananas and the remaining yogurt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds.
Stir in remaining ingredients until just combined then pour into loaf pan. Bake 55-60 minutes (40 minutes) or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the loaf. Cool in pan for 5 minutes and remove to cooling rack. Wrap tightly in wax paper and then in a layer of aluminum foil. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

A Look Back

Pumpkin Spice Biscotti
Pumpkin Millet Muffins - a perfect fall treat!
This blog is not an official U.S. Department of State website and the views and opinions expressed here are entirely my own, and do not represent the U.S. Department of State or the Fulbright Program.