Happy (Belated) Birthday, Ryan

Buttermilk Cupcake with Strawberry Mousse and Swiss Meringue Buttercream

So I made cupcakes for Ryan's birthday, but they didn't come out well so I'm not going to post the recipe. The strawberry mousse was yummy and so was the frosting...which is basically Martha Stewart's Swiss Meringue Buttercream with a little less sugar. I was very sad they didn't come out well, but hopefully I will try a new cupcake recipe soon.

Alfajores = Dulce de leche Cookies

Alfajores with Margaritas and Chips

A few weeks ago we had a taco potluck. I brought homemade Mexican rice along with these cookies. Alfajores are basically a cornstarch shortbread cookie filled with sweet dulce de leche.  Making homemade dulce de leche seems easy, but I had to try it twice before filling the cookies. The filling was thinner then I would have liked, but the first batch wasn't even spreadable.

Along with the variety of taco fillings, sides, churros and these cookies we had a yummy and successful taco party. Yum.

Alfajores aka Dulce de leche Cookies

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter, room temp
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg plus one yolk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
1-2 cups dulce de leche, see recipe below

powdered sugar

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and the sugar. Add in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla and beat until incorporated. 
2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch and baking powder. A little at a time, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and continue mixing until it forms a dough.
3. Remove the dough from the mixer and divide the dough into two balls. Wrap the balls in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap one ball of dough and roll it out on a floured surface. Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness, then cut with a small round cutter (or a juice glass). Repeat the rolling and cutting until you have used all the dough. Repeat with other ball of dough.
5. Place the cookies on a greased cookie sheet, and bake for 15 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Cool cookies completely. 
6. Spread a generous dollop of dulce de leche on one cookie and top with another cookie to make a sandwich. Press gently together. Cover in sifted powdered sugar.

Dulce de leche

Ingredients:

1-14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

1. Fill a medium sauce pan with about an inch of water. Place a metal bowl on top, making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.  Bring the water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
2. Pour a 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk in the bowl and set it over the simmering water. 
3. Every 45 minutes, stir the milk.  Check the water level and replenish the simmering water with hot water as needed. 
4. When the milk is as thick as pudding and is a rich, dark caramel color, 2 1/2 to 3 hours, remove from heat, cool thoroughly, cover with plastic wrap, and use immediately or refrigerate for later use.

YUM

SO GOOD!

I just bought Nutella and strawberries at Costco and I wanted something sweet. This is the easiest, but tastiest sweet treat. It's silly to even put a recipe. Just slice and toast baguette, spread with Nutella, top with sliced strawberries and ENJOY!

Lemon Bars

Stack of Lemon Bars

I hadn't baked anything awhile and I wanted something quick and easy to make. These lemon bars were just that. I made the crust and while it was baking I made the filling by hand, with just a whisk. It goes back into the oven for a little bit and then they need to cool. I found that they tasted a lot better after they had cooled for awhile in the fridge rather than room temperature/from the oven. These didn't come out super lemon-y, but pretty tasty nonetheless.

Here's the recipe...my changes were more lemon juice and I let them cool in the fridge before cutting and dusting with powdered sugar.

Lemon Bars

from the Taste of Home Baking Book

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 tbs flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tbs lemon juice (I think I used closer to 3 tbs)

1 tsp grated lemon peel

Confectioners' sugar to garnish

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, butter and confectioners' sugar. Pat into an ungreased 8-in square baking dish. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
2. For filling, in a small mixing bowl, beat eggs. Add the sugar, flour, baking powder, lemon juice and peel; beat until frothy. Pour over the crust. Bake 25 minutes longer or until light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Cut into bars.

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

Poppy Seed Bread in the Sunshine

Inspired by the giant Costco poppy seed muffins I made a loaf of lemon poppy seed bread! This bread version was a lot more lemon-y than the muffins, but still very tasty. The batter came together quickly and then baked for about an hour. After it was done baking I poured a lemon-sugar syrup over the bread and after it was cooled I wrapped it in plastic wrap. Then it sat overnight so the syrup could soak in.

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
adapted from Joy of Baking

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
3 tbsp poppy seeds
12 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
2. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla extract, and milk.
3. In the bowl of your electric mixer mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, lemon zest and poppy seeds until combined.
4. Add the softened butter and half of the egg mixture and mix on low speed until moist. Increase the speed to medium and beat for one minute.
5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the remaining egg mixture and mix for 30 seconds.
6. Pour the batter into the pan.
7. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. If the top of the bread is getting too brown during baking, cover with aluminum foil.
8. When bread is done, remove and cool on a wire rack. Poke holes in the top of the hot loaf and brush or spoon half of the lemon syrup over the top. Cool the bread for 5 minutes and then turn it out upside down. Brush/spoon the rest of the syrup over the bottom and sides of the bread. Set bread upright and let cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap and let the bread sit overnight before slicing.

Lemon Syrup

Ingredients:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup granulated white sugar

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, bring the sugar and lemon juice to a boil and stir until all the sugar dissolves.