Coffee Heaven!

Oh my god Philly what did you do with my Fall?! One nice week of proper fall weather and now it's all high 70s hello humidity. Blerg. At least the gray skies is working in your favor but it's like a bright gray, I still wore my sunglasses. So on this not so fine, oddly hot and humid, cloudy afternoon I found myself falling asleep while lesson planning. Pinterest to the rescue!

I love yummy flavored coffee drinks from coffee shops. It's how I survived grad school/student teaching, never underestimate the power of a well placed white chocolate mocha during a 3 hour night class. I do not love how much sugar/calories each glorious cup contains and the price tag that is attached to it! Needless to say I rarely get yummy coffee treats anymore unless we're traveling. This recipe is going to change that! It was delicious, tasted like the real deal, and you can control the sugar/calorie amount! Plus I had all the ingredients so my immediate out of pocket cost was zero. Winner. Whipped cream is never optional and don't skip the salt! Just a pinch makes a nice flavor contrast.

Salted Caramel Mocha

(Pinterest find! From 52 Kitchen Adventures)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup coffee
1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons caramel sauce
1-2 tablespoons hot chocolate powder
Pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup milk
Whipped cream
Extra caramel sauce and sea salt to drizzle/sprinkle on top
Directions:
1. Prepare coffee. 

2. Place caramel sauce, cocoa powder and sea salt in a mug. 

3. Pour coffee into mug, stirring to combine everything. 

4. Heat milk in microwave or on the stove and add to mug, stirring everything to combine. 

5. Taste and add more caramel, cocoa and/or salt to taste. 

6. Top with whipped cream, caramel sauce and a tiny pinch of sea salt.

A Word About Bourbon

Thanksgiving morning started like any other: me baking away in Grandma's kitchen and then triumphantly licking the spoon. Granted I did this in a very confrontational lock eyes with you kind of way which was promptly met with "How does that salmonella taste Jennifer?" "Great, the rum totally kills the salmonella." Ha. I went on to explain my bourbon cheesecake when all of the sudden Grandma exclaims that she has some bourbon....in the telephone. Obviously I think that she has completely lost it as she motions to the top of the china cabinet which is filled with the typical grandparent things like an antique phone, a rooster teapot and lasagna noodles.

But wait! It turns out that the antique phone I thought was actually just a phone my whole entire life is a giant flask of bourbon. Which after a quick calculation of the original age and how long my grandparents  were in possession of it resulted in us discovering we had 40 year old bourbon on our hands. At which point Grandma decides what the heck, let's open it up. And so the three of us did a shot of 40 year old bourbon before ten in the morning and man oh man was it smooth. Best Thanksgiving ever?!

Oh snap, the bell pops off to reveal a hidden flask!

Right, back to the cheesecake. I have never made a cheesecake before which may have resulted in some technical issues such as the texture, it was very fluffy not thick like a cheesecake. I'm also unsure about how I feel about pumpkin flavor that is not in a traditional pumpkin pie (which is sweet). Everyone liked it and thought it was good except for the non-cheesecake texture. Mr. Lawyer said if I had plopped it in a ramekin and called it a custard or mousse no one would have thought twice. The caramel-bourbon sauce? To. Die. For. I will definitely be keeping that part of the recipe for future desserts and ice cream. It made a lot so I still have half a mason jar in the fridge which I may or may not be eating by the spoonful.

Pumpkin Spiced Cheesecake with Caramel-Bourbon Sauce

(from Bon Appetit Magazine)

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 1/2 cups pecans, toasted, cooled
3 tablespoons golden brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Filling:
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
4 large eggs
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Large pinch of salt
Sauce:
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 to 4 tablespoons bourbon
1 1/2 cups pecans, toasted, cooled
Directions:
1. Crust - Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9-inch springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Grind first 4 ingredients in processor until nut mixture sticks together. Press evenly onto bottom of pan. Bake crust until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool completely. Wrap outside of pan in triple layer of heavy-duty foil.
2. Filling - Using mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, and lemon peel in large bowl until smooth. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then pumpkin, yogurt, flour, vanilla, spices, and salt. Pour into pan.
3. Set springform pan in roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of cheesecake. Place in oven. Bake until outer 3 inches puff slightly and center is softly set, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool in water bath 30 minutes. Remove from water. Cut around sides of cake to loosen. Refrigerate in pan until cold, about 4 hours. Cover and chill overnight.
4. Sauce - Bring sugar, cream, butter, corn syrup, and salt to boil in deep medium saucepan, whisking until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium; boil 1 minute without stirring. Remove from heat. Stir in bourbon, then pecans. Cool, stirring occasionally.
5. Remove foil. Cut around pan sides; remove sides. Cut cheesecake into wedges; spoon sauce over.

Bite Sized Fall Tradition

Since tonight was leftover crispy cheesy chicken nugget night I decided that there should be some kind of yummy dessert. Enter: Caramel Apples. I inherited this kit from Nyk and dragged it all the way to Philly so there was going to be caramel apples this fall come hell or high water. Now there are two major flaws with caramel apples: to start with everyone knows that the caramel to apple ratio is off. Way off. You never have enough caramel. Also, caramel apples are messy. Enter my genius idea of bite sized caramel apple pieces. On a toothpick. Things are always cuter on a toothpick. Good caramel to apple ratio, no mess, toothpick. Amazing.

Here's the state traveling kit! It was super easy, all you needed was milk and sugar.

Why is making caramel always so scary?!

I'm totally going to have a little kid ate too much sugar tummy ache tonight. 

Girl Scout Cookies!

Every year G-Babe's dad would load us up with Girl Scout Cookies in college. Then it was Nyk's dad in grad school. Now I'm a broke big kid but I was a Girl Scout and they taught me to be resourceful and thrifty so now I make my own Girl Scout Cookies! Behold the glorious mess of Jenni the Kitchen Hurricane and her homemade Girl Scout Cookies!

I decided to go with two of my top three cookies (Caramel deLites, Thin Mints, and Peanut Butter Patties. Side note: Samoas and Tagalongs for all you lame people). The deLites and Patties use the same cookie dough so it seemed like the easiest way to have variety in my cookie stash. I was worried about the caramel as I have never made it before but it came out well and was easy to clean up (much to my surprise). However, the darn chocolate was a disastrous mess! It got all over including but not limited to: my wine glass, inside the fridge, all cabinet knobs, my camera and the bottom of my computer mouse. Surprising enough there was very little of it on my apron. Shocker I know since I am a messy messy hurricane in the kitchen.
The result: Some very yummy cookies that are only moderately pretty (as in the Jenni M.O.) The Caramel deLites were great (and larger then those puny things they sell nowadays!). I think the Peanut Butter cookies need a little tweaking but Mr. Lawyer said they were all fine and wonderful. I would double the peanut butter filling and add a bit more in addition to switching the chocolate topping. I used the semi-sweet chips it called for but it is very sweet and overpowering. There's just so much of it! Maybe next time I'll use milk chocolate or a mix or just drizzle the chocolate over it instead of dunking it.
Also: Parchment Paper is your best friend.

Homemade Caramel deLites and Peanut Butter Patties

(Recipe from the Mother Unit)

Cookie Dough Ingredients:
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup superfine sugar (or granulated)

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour


Directions:
1. Cream together butter and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Add in egg and beat well. Add in vanilla. Beat until smooth. With mixer on low, add in salt and flour. Mix until completely incorporated and dough is uniform. Pull dough together and shape into a cylinder with a diameter of about 2 1/2 inches. Wrap in parchment paper and freeze for at least 25 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice dough into 1/8 inch disks and place on baking sheets, about an inch apart. For deLites use a tiny circle shaped cookie cutter or a large round cake decorating tip to cut a hole in the center of each disk.  (I used my cupcake corer to make the holes for the deLites and it was glorious!) for patties just leave the circle along. Refrigerate for an additional 10 minutes. Bake for 8 minutes, or until crisp. Let cool completely.

Cooling Cookies!

Caramel deLite toppings:

Dipping Caramel

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
12 ounces of chocolate chips 

Dipping Caramel:
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 tablespoons corn syrup

6 tablespoons water
pinch of salt

6 tablespoons butter

6 tablespoons heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Caramel Directions:
1. In a heavy bottomed saucepan with high sides, combine sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt. Whisk until combined, and set over medium-low heat. Swirl the pan every now and then to help distribute the heat. Use can use a pastry brush dipped in water to brush the sugar crystals down the sides of the saucepan. When the sugar dissolves completely, raise the heat to medium. When it comes to a boil, watch very carefully for the bubbles to become more viscous (this means that the water has evaporated and that it is ready to go through the candy stages). As it is bubbling away, you want it to turn a deep amber color. When it does, remove the heat and, working quickly, use the spoon to scoop up a small amount of the candy and drop it into the small glass of water. If the blob turns hard like lollipop, then it is ready. If the blob is still soft, put the pan back on the heat. Keep testing until the candy is hard. Remove from heat.
2. Whisk in butter, 6 tablespoons of cream, and vanilla (Careful here, as the mixture should bubble violently for about 10 seconds). If the caramel isn’t smooth right away, return the pan to low heat and whisk until smooth.

Making the Caramel and Melted Chocolate

Caramel deLite Directions:

1. Add coconut into the caramel. Warm the caramel in the microwave for about 10 seconds if necessary. Take cooled cookies and gently dip them completely in the caramel. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Freeze until set, about 5 minutes.
2. Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second intervals, stirring well after each interval, until fully melted (or in a ghetto double boiler like a real cookie chef!). Place the caramel coated cookies in the chocolate. Use a fork to pull them out of the chocolate and place them on a parchment line cookie sheet. Use the chocolate still on the fork to drizzle stripes over the top of the cookies. Refrigerate until set. 

Gooey Caramel!

Peanut Butter Patty Toppings:
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Peanut Butter Patty Directions:
1. Mix together peanut butter and powdered sugar. Form into small disks and press onto cookies. Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl for 30 second intervals, and mix well after each interval. Coat cookies completely in chocolate and lift out with a fork. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and let set, or freeze to speed up the process.

Peanut Butter!

The Final Product!