Chocolate Blood Orange Cupcakes

So you're probably wondering why I love blood oranges so much right? (Even if you're not, I'm going to tell you.)

The first week I was studying abroad in Italy, my roommates took a trip to the local grocery store. Now I didn't speak much Italian at that point so the whole experience was a little bit overwhelming. Fortunately we went during an off-peak time so there weren't people everywhere to make it even worse.

But the store was tiny and I couldn't read any of the labels so I stuck with fruits and vegetables and other such easily identifiable things... or so I thought.

Well I got home that night and went to eat an orange from the 5lb bag I bought. I started to peel it, and started to break apart the wedges, and then I notice that the orange was a weird color. Being in a different country and not knowing how fresh food was, etc., I figured the orange had gone bad. So I started to peel a new one... same problem.



It took me about 4 oranges before I realized that these weren't the same oranges I was used to. After giving one a try, I fell in love, and proceeded to buy one of those massive bags every few days.

Since they're so hard to find in the Northeast US, I gradually forgot how good they were. But when I saw a recipe on another blog about a year ago that used blood oranges, I knew I needed to find some and get baking. It took me a year, but here we are...

Chocolate & Blood Orange Cupcakes

(from Love & Olive Oil)

1c coconut milk

1/3c pure olive oil

1t vanilla extract

1t blood orange zest

3/4c sugar

1c flour

1T almond meal

1/3c cocoa

3/4t baking soda

1/2t baking powder

1/4t salt

1/2c butter, at room temperature

2-3c confectioners' sugar

1/2t vanilla extract

3T blood orange juice

1t blood orange zest

1-2T heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350.

Whisk together the coconut milk, sugar, olive oil, vanilla extract (1t), and orange zest.

Note: For this recipe, you'll need about one large orange for both the zest and juice.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and almond meal.

(I didn't have any almond meal on hand, and couldn't find it at the store, so I substituted corn meal.)

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

Divide the batter between 12 cupcake liners and bake for 18-20 minutes, then let cool.

While the cupcakes are baking/cooling, make the icing.

Cream the butter until fluffy. Beat in 1c confectioners' sugar.

Mix in orange juice, zest, and vanilla extract.

Gradually add more confectioners' sugar and heavy cream until desired consistency.

Can't find blood oranges? This recipe would work equally as well with any type of orange, but the frosting would obviously be orange instead of such a pretty pink color.

Peanut Butter Brownies

I've always been a sucker for the peanut butter and chocolate combo. Give me a pack of Reese's and they'll be gone before you can even open yours. Surprisingly, I haven't done much with the combo in terms of baking, except for these chocolate peanut butter truffles (which I couldn't stop thinking about for weeks later).

So when someone recently requested I make them brownies, I went for a peanut butter twist. These brownies are very dense - more of a fudge base than your typical cake-y brownie. Whatever you want to call them though, they're worth making.

Sweet, salty, crunchy, and chewy - the perfect blend.

Peanut Butter Brownies

For the brownies:

3/4c butter, room temperature

7 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1.5c sugar

1.5t vanilla extract

1/4t salt

4 eggs

1c flour

1c roasted peanuts, chopped

For the frosting:

1c peanut butter, chunky

1/4c butter, room temperature

3/4c confectioners' sugar

1/8t salt

1/8t nutmeg

1T milk

1t vanilla extract

For the coating:

7 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/4c butter, room temperature

Preheat the oven to 325. Line a 13x9x2" pan with foil, then grease.

Make the brownies:

Place butter and chocolates in a saucepan over low heat until melted and combined, stirring constantly.

Remove the pan from the heat, then stir in the sugar, vanilla extract, and salt.

Add the eggs one at a time.

Stir in the flour, then the peanuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, then let cool.

Make the frosting:

Beat together the peanut butter and the butter until smooth.

Beat in the sugar, salt, and nutmeg.

Add in the milk and vanilla extract.

Spread the frosting on top of the cooled brownies.

For the coating:

Combine the chocolate and the butter in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until melted and smooth.

Drop on top of the frosting and spread to cover.

Chill the brownies until the coating is set, about 1.5 hours.

To store, cover and keep chilled.

Homemade Oreo Hearts

Now I've done homemade Oreos before, but given my Type A personality, I couldn't deal with the cookies in them being different shapes and sizes. I was looking through old posts from Bake at 350 the other day, and saw a post for her version of Oreos, and decided I needed to try again (especially since her's were so darn cute). Since I liked my version of the cream filling, I used that again, but tried her recipe for the cookies. And with it being Valentine's Day and all, I made these cookies in a heart shape!

These cookies are cut out cookies, so they require a little more work. I had a ton of trouble getting the dough to stick together, and it was obvious when they were baked. I'm not sure what my problem was, but even if they're hard to get to come together, the taste is totally worth the extra effort. These cookies are the perfect blend of sweet and salty, and would taste great by themselves.

Chocolate Cut Out Cookies

(from Bake at 350)

2.5c flour

1/2c cocoa

1/2t salt

1c butter (unsalted), softened

1c sugar

1 egg

1t vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350, and line baking sheets with parchment.

Stir together the first 3 ingredients, then set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

Gradually add in the flour mixture.

Chill the dough for about an hour.

Roll dough onto a surface covered in flour and cocoa (evenly mixed).

Cut out the cookies with a heart shaped cookie cutter.

Press a smaller heart shaped cookies cutter into the center, but not the whole way through (only about halfway).

Bake 7-9 minutes, then let cool.

Meanwhile prepare the filling.

Fill the cookies using a piping bag, or by spreading in the center.

Fudgy Oatmeal Bars

So this one was not my favorite recipe, but I'm also not the biggest fan of chocolate desserts unless it's in solid chocolate form. I mean, growing up so close to Hershey, it's not really possible to resist the Great American Chocolate Bar (remember that part of the song?). Anyway, when Jim and I were trying to decide on a dessert one night, he kept shooting down all my deliciously fruity and sweet suggestions. Eventually I gave in and agreed on these (because who can really go without dessert on a Saturday night).

His mom used to make these for him and as everyone knows, mom's cooking/baking can never be beat, so I'm not really sure how satisfied he was with these, but I was a happy girl. These bars are sweet and chocolatey and have just the right amount of texture from the oats, but boy are they rich. If you make these, be sure you have lots of friends to share them with because one little bar will be plenty to satisfy even the biggest craving.

Fudgy Oatmeal Bars

2c packed brown sugar

1c softened butter

2 eggs

1t vanilla extract

2.5c all-purpose flour

1t baking soda

1/2t salt

3c oats

12oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

14oz sweetened condensed milk

2T butter

1t vanilla extract

1/2t salt

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a large rectangular pan.

Mix brown sugar, 1c butter, eggs, and 1t vanilla in a large bowl.

Stir in flour, baking soda, and 1/2t salt, then stir in oats.

Reserve about 1/3 of the oatmeal mixture. Press the remaining mixture into the pan.

Heat chocolate chips, milk, and 2T butter in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until the chocolate chips are melted.

Remove from the heat and stir in 1t vanilla and 1/2t salt.

Spread the chocolate mixture over the oats mixture in the pan.

Drop the reserved oats mixture by rounded teaspoons on top of the chocolate mixture.

Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes.

Cut into bars while still warm (but not hot).

Peppermint Bark

Even though it's after Christmas, it's never a bad time for some peppermint bark.... the combo of chocolate and peppermints is just SO good.

For this recipe, I made both regular bark and broke it up into pieces, and shaped peppermint bark, using cookie cutters. The instructions below are to use cookie cutters and shape them, but this results in a thicker bark. If you prefer it thinner, just pour chocolate onto a parchment-lined pan rather than into cookie cutters.

Peppermint Bark

1lb white chocolate, chopped

1lb milk chocolate, chopped

1 package soft peppermint candies, crushed

1/2 tsp peppermint oil

Place cookie cutters into freezer. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Melt milk chocolate. Stir in 1/4tsp peppermint oil.

Place cookie cutters on parchment paper-lined sheet.

Pour chocolate into cookie cutters, making sure it fills all the edges. 

Place in freezer for 15 mins.

 Melt white chocolate. Stir in 1/4 tsp peppermint oil.

Remove milk chocolate cutters from freezer and top with white chocolate.

Sprinkle crushed peppermint candies over top.

Put back in freezer, letting sit for at least 1 hour, or until solid.

To remove from cookie cutters, gently push. If needed, use knife to release from edges.

Last of the Truffles

Finally! The last of the 7 kinds of truffles.... and I saved my favorite for last:

Peanut Butter Cup Truffles

3/4c heavy cream

1lb + 2oz milk chocolate, finely chopped

6T smooth peanut butter, natural

Simmer cream. Pour over chocolate. Allow to sit 5 minutes, covered, then stir with spatula until smooth.

Add peanut butter and stir until blended.

Pour into piping bags.

Follow instructions from this post to fill mold cavities, but use a peanut butter cup shaped mold.

Tops can be printed using chocolate transfer sheets - I used left over candy cane transfer sheets, as well as a flower print. Or top with crushed peanuts.

Dark Chocolate Truffles

For these, I used the exact same recipe as for Milk Chocolate Cut Out Truffles, except I substituted dark chocolate for the milk chocolate. Also, instead of coating these in tempered chocolate, I rolled them in cocoa powder.

Coconut Truffles

Sick of truffles yet?

To be honest, I never tried this truffle. This was the last one I made and after tasting all the others, I couldn't take any more. They looked pretty though! Hope they were good...

Coconut Truffles

1lb dark chocolate, finely chopped

1/3c heavy cream

5T coconut milk

1/2T vanilla extract

1lb milk chocolate, for tempering

3/4c toasted coconut

Place cream and coconut milk in saucepan. Add vanilla and simmer.

Sprinkle over chopped chocolate.

Let sit, covered, 5 mins, then stir with spatula until smooth.

Allow to sit overnight until hardened.

Roll into balls and place on parchment-lined sheet in refrigerator while tempering remaining chocolate.

Dip in tempered chocolate, tap off excess, then let cool on parchment-lined sheet.

Sprinkle toasted coconut on top.

Molded Truffles

To make truffles in molds, you can use a softer ganache. If you ever have a ganache that doesn't quite harden enough to make a rolled ball truffle, a molded truffle is the perfect option. Or if you plan for a molded truffle, add a little more cream to the ganache.

I made molded truffles filled with a Vanilla Rooibos tea (from Starbucks) ganache. To infuse truffles with a tea flavor, just steep the tea bags in the cream as it boils. I used 5 tea bags for this recipe. For my ganache, I used the same recipe as for Milk Chocolate Cut Out Truffles, but used 9oz of cream. Once the ganache was made, I poured it into piping bags since it will be very liquid.

To fill the mold, pour tempered chocolate into each cavity. Immediately turn upside down and let all excess chocolate drip out of the mold, but ensure all sides are covered. Let sit for several minutes until chocolate starts to firm. Scrape excess chocolate off mold so that only the cavities are filled, and there is no excess on the sides of the mold. Allow to sit until fully hardened. Fill 2/3 full with ganache. Pour tempered chocolate over each cavity to fill on top of ganache. Immediately scrape excess off mold. Allow to sit until completely firm. If chocolate was tempered properly, candies will easily pop out of mold. If you have difficulty, freeze for several minutes, then try again.

Champagne Truffles

These don't have a very strong champagne flavor, but it does make the texture a little bit more bubbly.

Champagne Truffles

1/2c heavy cream

1lb + 2oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3T champagne

Simmer cream over medium heat.

Pour over 8oz chocolate.

Cover and let sit 5 minutes.

Stir gently with spatula until smooth.

Stir in champagne.

Cool overnight, uncovered, or until firm enough to roll.

Roll into balls and place on parchment-lined sheet.

Refrigerate while tempering remaining chocolate (see my previous post).

Dip balls into tempered chocolate, and place on a parchment-lined sheet to cool.

Sprinkle with fine sugar.

Milk Chocolate Cut Out Truffles

Another one of the Christmas themed truffles I made was a milk chocolate truffle, cut into the shape of candy canes, with a candy cane print on top. I bought a lot of my supplies, including packaging, from Country Kitchen Sweet Art. They have a ton of fun baking and candy-making supplies, and a great customer service department. For tempering instructions, see my previous post.

Milk Chocolate (Candy Cane) Truffles

12oz milk chocolate

4.5oz heavy cream

Candy cane pattern chocolate transfer sheet, cut into appropriate sized pieces

Chop chocolate into fine pieces and place in heat safe bowl.

Bring the cream to a light boil, then pour over chocolate.

Cover bowl and let sit for 5 mins.

Using a spatula, stir until smooth.

Pour ganache onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet or pan, and spread to 1/4" thick.

Let sit overnight to set.

Temper chocolate.

Pour a thin layer over the hardened ganache and let sit 5 mins to harden.

Cut ganache into shapes using a small, cold cookie cutter.

Place the cut out chocolate side down on a dipping tool and dip in the tempered chocolate.

Put on a parchment-lined cookie sheet to cool.

While chocolate is still wet, place a transfer sheet on the truffle.

Once truffle is set, about 30-45 mins, slowly peel off transfer sheet.

Tons of Truffles

For Christmas this year, I made boxes of truffles for everyone. 

I took a truffles class with a friend a few months ago. They talked about different types of chocolate and gave us the basics of truffle making, then walked us through the process of making ganache. Since the ganache needs to sit overnight, they provided us with 3 different kinds of ganache that we rolled into balls and decorated. 

The class made it seem so easy to make the truffles that I thought it would be great to do for gifts. Even though it's pretty easy to make the ganache, the hard (and time-consuming) part is chopping the chocolate. Luckily I had some help in the kitchen. In the end, I made 7 different kinds of truffles. Any of the truffle recipes that will follow over the next few days can either be left uncoated or dipped in tempered chocolate (either milk or dark). They can also be cooled on a flat cookie sheet and cut into shapes before coating, or just rolled into balls. The recipes will include instructions for the ways I coated and decorated them, but use whichever methods you prefer. Also, be sure to use baking chocolate to make the truffles. I used the Trader Joe's pound plus bars for all my truffles.

Candy Cane Truffles

6oz semi-sweet chocolate

1/3c heavy cream

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

4 peppermint candy canes

1lb chocolate (for coating)

Finely chop the semi-sweet chocolate and place it in a heatproof bowl.

Unwrap the candy canes and crush.

Heat the cream in a small saucepan until almost boiling and bubbling at the edges.

Pour cream over the chopped chocolate and cover bowl immediately.

Allow to sit approximately 5 minutes, then stir using spatula until smooth.

Add peppermint extract and most of crushed candy canes and stir.

Allow to sit, uncovered, overnight or until firm enough to work with.

Roll truffles into balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Truffles can be served without further coating, or can be dipped in tempered chocolate.

To temper chocolate:

Cut chocolate into small pieces and place in bowl over a double boiler to melt. Bring to a temperature of about 110 degrees. Seed the chocolate as soon as this temperature is reached (add a large chunk of chocolate to your melted chocolate). Bring the temperature down to 85 degrees, then remove the seed. Bring the temperature back up to about 90 degrees. To maintain temperature, place on a heating pad set to low heat. A Google search will provide you with many videos and further instructions for tempering chocolate.

Once chocolate is tempered, use dipping tools to coat your truffle balls. Tap on edge of bowl to remove excess chocolate, then set on parchment-lined cookie sheet to set. Sprinkle pieces of candy canes on top.

As promised...

The best part of Jim's welcome home party (besides him finally being home) was....

CAKE POPS!

I saw these on bakerella.com a few months ago and had been wanting to try them, but was waiting for a good occasion. They're very time consuming and really easy to screw up, but once you get the hang of them they're fun too. I wasn't adventurous enough to try any of the crazy designs shown over at bakerella, but I'm pretty sure they taste just as good no matter what shape they're in.

To make:
Prepare a box of your favorite cake mix and let cool completely.
Crumble into tiny pieces, then add 3/4 can of your favorite frosting, and mix together.
Roll mixture into balls and let chill in refridgerator or freezer.
Melt chocolate.

Take out 5-10 cake pops from freezer.

Dip stick into chocolate, then stick into the cake ball about 3/4 of the way.

Dip entire cake ball and stick into chocolate.

Tap stick against side of bowl to remove excess chocolate.

Put stick into styrofoam block and allow to set.

I found these to be much easier when working in small batches. The first batch I did, I melted too much chocolate at once and it ended up burning. I also took out all of the cake balls from the freezer at once and they started to get too warm by the end, so they were falling apart when I dipped them into the chocolate. But my mess ups turned into cake balls instead of cake pops!

These really are SO good and are worth spending time making... check out bakerella for more ideas and instructions.

It's been a while...

I just realized it's been over 3 months since I last posted to here. I've still been baking and cooking, but every time I've sat down to post, I really haven't felt like it. But now with Christmas coming up, I'm finally motivated again... not that today's post will have anything to do with Christmas but those will be coming soon!

Over Labor Day weekend I was home and my parents decided to have a little party with some family and friends, and I couldn't have been more excited to try baking. Especially with my mom's big kitchen (and her help of course). We made lemon bars (see this post), and mini cupcakes.

Mini Vanilla Cupcakes

(from Magnolia Bakery)

1 1/2c self-rising flour

1 1/4c all-purpose flour

1c unsalted butter, softened

2c sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1c milk

1t vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Line mini cupcake pan with liners.

In a smal bowl, combine the flours, then set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter until smooth. Add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla.

Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full. Bake 12-15 minutes.

French Silk Frosting

2 2/3c confectioners' sugar

2/3c butter, softened

2 1oz squares unsweetened chocolate, melted

3/4t vanilla extract

2T milk

In a medium bowl, blend confectioners' sugar, butter, melted chocolate and vanilla.

Gradually add milk and beat until smooth and fluffy.

Chocolate Raspberry Bars

These are very rich bars, but if you're a big fan of chocolate, then you'll love them.

Chocolate Raspberry Bars

 2 c all-purpose flour

1/2 c packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 c cold butter

14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

2 c semisweet chocolate pieces

seedless raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 350.

Place flour, brown sugar, salt, and cold butter in a food processor. Process until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set 1 1/2 c of crumb mixture aside. Press remaining mixture into bottom of a greased 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 14 minutes.

For the filling, heat condensed milk and 1 c of chocolate pieces over low heat until the chocolate melts, stirring constantly. Pour mixture over baked crust, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture. Drop teaspoons of raspberry jam 1 1/2 inches apart over the top and sprinkle with the remaining chocolate pieces. Bake for 30 minutes, then cool and cut into bars.

Brownie Pillow Cookies

I can't remember where I first saw these cookies. I've tried the brownie/chocolate chip cookie mixes from the grocery store before but they never quite come out right, so this recipe intrigued me.

Brownie Pillow Cookies

 For the brownie:

1/2 c butter, melted

1 c sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 c all-purpose flour

1/3 c cocoa powder

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

For the cookies:

1 c butter, room temperature

1 1/2 c packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk

1 T vanilla extract

2 1/2 c all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

12 oz bag semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 inch square baking pan.

For the brownies, stir together butter, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, beating well. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Spread evenly into pan and bake 20-25 minutes. Once cool, cut about 10 one inch squares.

For the cookies, beat butter until creamy. Add brown sugar and beat until smooth. Add eggs, yolk and vanilla, beating until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Chill dough in refrigerator for an hour.

Scoop batter into 1/2 c portions. Place on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Make an indentation in the center and put brownie square into indentation. 

Work remaining dough into ball around brownie.

The cookies will get very large, so put only 4-5 per baking sheet. Bake for about 18 minutes.

Homemade Oreos

I love oreos... so much that I could eat an entire package in one sitting. When I came across a recipe for homemade oreos (I forget where I saw it), I knew I needed to try making them. These cookies taste almost like the real thing, but are a bit sweeter. Luckily I like them that way because it makes me stick to one or two instead of eating the whole batch.

Chocolate Wafer Cookies

For the wafers:

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour

1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 c sugar

1/2 c + 2 T butter, room temperature

1 large egg

For the filling:

1/2 c butter, room temperature

1/2 c vegetable shortening

2 c confectioners' sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375.

Using a mixer, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt and sugar. While on low speed, add the butter and then the egg. Continue mixing until dough forms a mass. Place rounded teaspoons of batter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Slightly flatted the dough with your hands. Bake for 9 minutes.

For the filling, mix butter and shortening, and gradually beat in sugar and vanilla. Turn mixer to high and beat for 2-3 minutes, or until filling is light and fluffy. Pipe blobs of cream into the center of one cookie and place another cookies of equal size on top, pressing to work the filling to the outside edges of the cookie.

Chocolate Pudding

It may not be the most summery dessert, but after coming across a recipe for chocolate pudding, I couldn't resist. This was super easy to make, but takes a while to chill before it's ready to serve so it's best made a day or two before needed.

Chocolate Pudding

2 egg yolks

1/2 c sugar

3 T cornstarch

3 c whole milk

5 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate

pinch of salt

1 T vanilla extract

Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch together. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, chocolate, and salt. Stir until the chocolate melts. (It's very important to make sure the chocolate is fully melted, or the pudding will be lumpy.) Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. (Again, you must whisk constantly or the pudding will be lumpy.) Once combined, pour back into saucepan and stir constantly until thick, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and divide into small serving dishes. Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and refrigerate until set.

To add a little something to this pudding, I made some cinnamon whipped cream to add to the top. Whipped cream is really easy to make and pretty much any flavoring can be added to this recipe to use with any dessert.

Cinnamon Whipped Cream

1 c heavy whipping cream

1 T sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Whip the cream and sugar in a bowl until soft peaks form. Fold in the cinnamon.