Coca-Cola Cupcakes

About a month ago, on a rainy Saturday afternoon, friend Katie and I went on a Katie Date to Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Red Hook is well known among New Yorkers because it is home to the water-taxi accessible IKEA. But it wasn't IKEA that motivated us to take the two hour, one-way trip there that day (not that we didn't take advantage of our vicinity and stop in for some Swedish meatballs. Obviously.)

It was the Baked bakery that called to us, which I had first heard about years ago on The Best Thing I Ever Ate. Some celebrity chef said that Baked's Sweet & Salty Brownie was the best brownie they'd ever had.

Naturally, the Sweet & Salty Brownie was the first thing I ordered. But Katie and I didn't stop there. Oh no. We had traveled by subway and bus to get there, after all. This trip was gonna be worth it.

Here's what we ordered:

Now, mind you, this photo doesn't do the size of these baked goods justice. That grasshopper bar is about the size of my palm (and probably contains half a pound of powdered sugar), and that slice of cake is as big as one of those giant blue IKEA bags. Seriously. (Okay, not seriously, but it was at least as big as the pile of meatballs I ate, and you know how I feel about meatballs).

So it's no surprise we didn't finish everything. But there was one thing we finished faster than I get lost in IKEA.

Can you guess what it was?

...

Hint #1: This is not a trick question.

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Hint #2: Did you read the title of this post?

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Hint #3: Really? You need a third hint?

...

Time's up! Did you guess the...

...Coca-Cola Cake?

Wow! You're so smart! Almost as smart as whoever invented Swedish meatballs! And this cake!

Man, was that Coca-Cola Cake GOOD. Mouth watering dark chocolate cake with frosting half an inch thick...

It was so good that I ran home and made a cupcake version for my co-worker's birthday the very next day.

I adapted the recipe from the first cookbook by Baked's creators, Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, which has a recipe for Root Beer Bundt Cake. I simply substituted Coca-Cola for the Root Beer. (I've made the Root Beer version before too - also very good.) You can't really taste the cola, but it does give the cake a certain "what is that flavor?" quality.

Also: this frosting is TO DIE FOR. If I had to choose between eating a tub of this frosting and eating a heaping pile of meatballs, I would toil over that decision, but in the end, I'd definitely choose this frosting. It's become a staple in our house - we use it on cupcakes, Chocolate Fudge Cake, and empty spoons.

Just the last week, the other Katie told me she couldn't stop thinking about the Coca-Cola Cake we ate at Baked. That makes two of us. If you're in the NYC area, head on over to Red Hook (via subway, bus, water taxi, or all three) and make sure to try it (either before or after your Swedish meatballs--we won't tell if you eat dessert first. We did). If you're not in the NYC area, I can't help with the meatballs, but the recipe for the cake is below.

Enjoy!
-Katie (and Katie)

Coca-Cola Cupcakes
Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking via Baked Perfection
Makes approximately 22 cupcakes.

For the cupcakes
2 cups Coca-Cola (do not use Diet Coke)
1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs


For the Coca-cola Fudge Frosting
2 oz dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp salt1/4 cup Coca-cola
2/3 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar


Make the cupcakes
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 22 cups of a muffin tin with paper liners.


2. In a small saucepan, heat Coca-Cola, cocoa powder, and butter over medium heat until butter is melted. Add sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.


3. In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together.


4. In a small bowl, whisk eggs until just beaten, then whisk them into the cooled cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold flour mixture into cocoa mixture. The batter will be slightly lumpy—do not overbeat, as it could cause the cake to be tough.


5. Use an ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup measuring cup to pour the batter into prepared baking pans. Bake cupcakes for 25 minutes or until a small knife (or toothpick) comes out clean.


6. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack. Let cool for 3 minutes, then gently flip cupcakes on their sides in muffin tins so they don't get soggy. 


Make the frosting
1. Put all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until the frosting is shiny and smooth. (Note: If you don't have a food processor, a hand mixer works just fine.)


2. Use a knife or offset spatula to spread the fudge frosting on the cupcakes. Decorate with sprinkles if desired. Let frosting set before serving.

World Peace Cookies

I'm not sure when I heard about these cookies for the first time, but they've been on my to-bake list for a while. It was the name that first caught my attention.

"What could possibly be in those cookies?" I wondered. "Good listening skills? Understanding? Courage? Not just mere tolerance of people and cultures different from our own, but arms and hearts that embrace and celebrate our many differences?"

That would be one complicated cookie.

As it turns out, these cookies are not complicated at all. They are simple (albeit unorthodox) sables--shortbread cookies with a chocoately, salty twist.

While the story behind their name comes from Dorie Greenspan's neighbor who was convinced that a daily dose of these cookies would ensure peace the world round, I think the name is appropriate based on flavor alone.

With a little sweetness and a little saltiness, these cookies remind us that peace is all about balance. It's about taking something someone says (and in this case, the cookies we eat), with a grain of salt. It's about standing up for what we believe in...in this case, chocolate. And it's a reminder that sometimes in order to achieve peace, we must have courage to take something we're comfortable with (shortbread cookies), and turn it on its head (Sea salt? In my cookies?!).

As I sit here in New York amid remembrances of 9/11, I'm not entirely convinced that a daily dose of these cookies would achieve world peace.

But they would be a start.

My thoughts and prayers are with all who lost loved ones on 9/11. May your hearts find peace. To all our readers--may each of us find ways--cookie baking or otherwise--to be daily instruments of peace for our families, our communities, and our world.

Best,

Katie

World Peace Cookies
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan via Smitten Kitchen

Makes about 36 cookies

1 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (11 tablespoons total) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (I used 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

Prepping the dough:

1. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together.

2. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more. Turn off the mixer. 

3. Pour in the flour mixture, drape a kitchen towel over the stand mixer to protect yourself and your kitchen from flying flour and pulse the mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. Take a peek — if there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a couple of times more; if not, remove the towel. Continuing at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds more, just until the flour disappears into the dough — for the best texture, work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added, and don’t be concerned if the dough looks a little crumbly. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.

4. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours (I froze for 2 hours). (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’ve frozen the dough, you needn’t defrost it before baking — just slice the logs into cookies and bake the cookies 1 minute longer.)

Getting ready to bake: 

5. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

6. Working with a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. (The rounds are likely to crack as you’re cutting them — don’t be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about one inch between them.

7. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes — they won’t look done, nor will they be firm, but that’s just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature.

Serving: The cookies can be eaten when they are warm or at room temperature — I prefer them at room temperature, when the textural difference between the crumbly cookie and the chocolate bits is greatest — and are best suited to cold milk or hot coffee.

Do ahead: Packed airtight, cookies will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days; they can be frozen for up to 2 months. They can also be frozen in log form for months, and can be sliced and baked directly from the freezer, adding a couple minutes to the baking time.

Lemon Cornmeal Cookies

Hey Readers! How are ya?

Are you holed up in your apartment waiting out Hurricane Irene, like I am? Are you using the hurricane as an excuse to watch old episodes of Mission Impossible, like I am? Are you also using it as an excuse to make Banana Bread Pudding, like I am?

No?

Oh. Why not?

Because you're at the beach today?

WHY?! ARE YOU CRAZY?! GO HOME! ON YOUR WAY, STOP AT THE SUPERMARKET AND WAIT IN LINE FOR AN INSANE AMOUNT OF TIME TO BUY WATER AND SOUP AND TOILET PAPER! WHILE WALKING HOME, CALL YOUR MOTHER TO ASSURE HER YOU ARE OKAY! AND CALL GRANDPA, TOO! WHEN YOU GET HOME, BOARD UP YOUR WINDOWS! FILL YOUR BATHTUB! LOCATE YOUR FLASHLIGHT! BE PREPARED, DEAR READERS!

What's that you say? You're not even on the east coast?

Oh.

Sorry. Please excuse my shouting. I fear that being holed up in my apartment has caused me to eat quite a bit of sugar recently.

The beach huh? That must be nice. I was at the beach once. Only seven days ago, in fact. And I brought these Lemon Cornmeal Cookies.

Reasons these cookies are great for the beach:

1) They're sturdy enough to withstand the schlep to the beach.

2) They do not melt in the sun.

3) The cornmeal gives them a sandy texture, which means you can eat 'em with sandy fingers and never know the difference.

4) They remind me of sand dollars.

5) And the sun.

6) And frisbees.

7) In fact, if you got desperate for beach sports equipment, you could probably use these as frisbees.

8) You could probably also use them to shield your eyes from the sun while you sunbathed. But then a seagull might swoop down to steal a cookie and poke your eyes out in the process...

...which would be worse: being on a beach during a hurricane, or getting your eyes poked out by seagulls?

What's that?

Oh. Yes. You're absolutely right. I should lay off the sugar before I go completely loopy.

Here's the bottom line: Stay safe during this hurricane, and if you're not on the east coast and are enjoying the beach, take these Lemon Cornmeal Cookies. But stay away from seagulls.

Best,
Katie

Lemon Cornmeal Cookies
Adapted from Cooking Light, via Me, Myself & Pie
Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 large egg
1 tablespoon lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line baking sheets with parchment.


2. Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking soda, salt, and ground ginger in a medium bowl and set aside.


3. In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Scrape sides of bowl occasionally. Add egg; beat well. Beat in lemon zest.


4. Add flour mixture in two batches, beating well until incorporated.


5. Use a cookie scoop or teaspoon to scoop 1 1/2 teaspoons of dough. Roll dough between palms to make a ball. Place dough balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. 


6. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly browned and almost firm, rotating pans halfway through. Cool cookies on pans for 2 minutes or until firm. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days.


Note: I made these once on a very hot day and the cookies spread a lot more, so if it's very hot in your kitchen, you may want to consider chilling the dough first, and in between batches.

Butterscotch Pudding

I'm just gonna say it: I've had a tough week. So tough, in fact, that I've come down with spoon-food syndrome.

Spoon-food syndrome (SFS): The state of only wanting to eat comfort foods consumed with a spoon.

Things such as:

Cereal. Pudding. Soup. More pudding. More cereal. Spaghetti.

Wait. You don't eat spaghetti with a spoon?

Well I do, or at least I did this week. Even when the lady sitting across the lunch table looked at me funny over her super expensive sunglasses and schmancy mineral water. 

I don't care what you think, Manhattan Lady! I need my spoon this week, okay?!

Geez.

Point is, I've gone through a lot of spoons this week. And, up until I made this pudding, all those spoons were shoveling food into my mouth that I hadn't made myself. Because if I'm suffering from SFS, I'm definitely not up for making said SF myself.

But then something happened.

I ran out of spoons.

If I wanted more spoon food, I was going to have to wash the dishes.

I thought it over, and decided that washing the dishes was less overwhelming than switching to forks (the horror!), so I got out the Dawn and a sponge and went to work.

But then something else happened while I stood there scrubbing spoons. I decided that if was going to the trouble to wash all those spoons, I might as well also go to the trouble of making something truly deserving of a shiny spoon. Something better than stale cereal, tomato soup, or takeout pasta.

This butterscotch pudding is what I chose. I don't really know why I chose it, frankly. I don't like butterscotch much, never have. Maybe it was the simplicity that was appealing; I already had the ingredients on hand.

This is the first time I've made pudding from scratch, and honestly, I don't think I'll ever go back to the instant stuff again. If I, impaired by SFS as I was, can handle pudding from scratch, anyone can. I even found the constant whisking to be comforting. I began to see a day when I'd pick up a fork again.

There's something else healing about this recipe: because it makes more pudding than one person can eat - no matter how many spoons she washes - one has to seek out friends to share it with. And friends, dear readers, are the foolproof cure for SFS.

Happy whisking,
-Katie

Butterscotch Pudding

Adapted from David Liebovitz via JoytheBaker
Makes 4-6 servings

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add dark brown sugar and salt, then stir until sugar is well-moistened. Remove from heat.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch with about 1/4 cup of the milk until smooth (there should be no visible pills of cornstarch), then whisk in eggs.

3. Gradually pour heavy cream and remaining milk into the melted brown sugar, whisking constantly, then whisk in the cornstarch mixture as well.

4. Return pan to medium low heat and bring the mixture to a boil, whisking frequently. Once it begins to bubble, reduce heat to a low simmer and continue to cook for one minute, whisking non-stop, until the pudding thickens to the consistency of hot fudge sauce.

5. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. If slightly-curdled looking, blend in a food processor or blender (or just whisk the heck out of it).

6. Pour pudding into a bowl or 4-6 serving glasses or custard cups and cover with plastic wrap, directly on top of pudding (unless you like pudding skin, in which case, plastic wrap doesn't need to touch top of pudding). Allow to cool and thicken in the refrigerator for several hours before serving.

Zesty Lemon Ice Cream

It was time, ladies and gentlemen.

Time for some homemade, melt-y, refreshing, creamy goodness.

How had August arrived without Katie and I making ANY ice cream this summer?!

This wrong had to be righted. Pronto. Was there time to venture out of our air-conditioned apartment to the grocery store for ingredients? No sir! Could we afford to wait for a silly custard-based ice cream to cook and chill? Of course not!

David Lebovitz, ice cream extraordinaire, to the rescue! This recipe for zesty lemon ice cream uses ingredients we already had on hand and involves almost no waiting. (I say almost because all ice cream-making requires at least a little bit of waiting. I think it's the universe's way of keeping people like me from becoming ice cream-making maniacs.)

 

Churned from a custard-less base (just cream, no eggs), this treat is light, refreshing, and well, zesty! Just perfect for a lazy summer afternoon pick-me up.

If you prefer your treats more sweet than tart, do like Kate and me and add a bit of hot fudge. Divine.

It's August, ladies and gentlemen. We've made our ice cream, and eaten it, too. All is right in the K&B kitchen.

-Becky

Zesty Lemon Ice Cream
Adapted from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop
Makes approximately 1 quart

2 lemons
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 3-4 lemons)
2 cups half-and-half
Pinch of salt

1. Zest the lemons directly into a food processor or blender. Make sure to zest only the very top (yellow) layer of the skin; the white underlayer is bitter.
2. Add the sugar and blend until the lemon zest is fully incorporated and very fine.
3. Add the lemon juice and blend until the sugar is completely dissolved.
4. Blend in the half-and-half and salt and process until smooth.
5. Chill mixture for one hour, then churn with an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Once churned, place in freezer until frozen (about 2 hours).

M&M Samoa Blondies

Let's go back in time 12 or so years, shall we?

The Time: New Year's Eve, 1999.

The Setting: My family's house, for the annual family-friendly NYE extravaganza.

The Players: Me, Katie, 16 years old; and our good friend Kirsten, 14 years old.

K&K circa 1994, five years before the millenium

The Backstory: Kirsten and I love M&Ms. It's our thing.

The Proposal:

"Hey, Kirst! You know how M&Ms are the official candy of the millenium because of how two Ms equals '2,000' in roman numerals?"

"Yeah."

"Well, what if, to celebrate the new millenium, you and I ate 2,000 M&Ms before morning?!"

(I pause here, readers, to let the magnitude of that proposal sink in. But only for a moment, because I don't remember Kirst hesitating much before she said...)

"Yeah!"

And then I said, "yeah" like she did, but with a question mark after it. Because really, readers, you'd have to be a little crazy to try to eat 2,000 M&Ms and I wasn't sure it was really such a good idea.

But Kirst was as crazy as I was, or at least as crazy about M&Ms as I was, and that, combined with all the caffeine we'd already consumed, was impairing both our judgements.

We furiously gathered all the M&Ms in the house and started counting.

"1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10!" Crunch.

"11 12 13 14 15 16!" Chomp.

Toss, catch, crunch, "17!"

Toss, catch, chomp, "18!"


Pop. "19!"


Pop. "20!"

And it went on like that for a few hours. As other party goers caught on to what we were doing, some cheered us on, and some told us we were downright stupid.

Around 2am, it turned out the latter group was right, and things got a little ugly.  Because dear readers, no matter how much a person loves candy coated chocolate that melts in your mouth and not in your hand, nobody can eat 2,000 M&Ms in one night.

Kirst and I called it quits at 900-something M&Ms between the two of us and rang in the new millenium with upset bellies and really bad sugar headaches.

But even as early as New Year's Day, we knew our crazy plan had been completely worth it, for we had made a commitment to something we loved and for better or for worse, we came out of it better friends and with a fabulous story to tell.

A few weeks ago, Becky and I witnessed Kirsten commit to something she loves even more than M&Ms (at least I'm pretty sure)--her fiance, Zach. 

I considered attempting to eat 2,000 M&Ms again to celebrate K&Z's special day, but thought my inevitable rainbow-colored vomit might distract from the celebration, so Becky and I chose to make these M&M Samoa Blondies instead. They were really easy to throw together, looked festive on a picnic table, and were well received by weary travelers. Kirsten's matron of honor even tells me they made a great breakfast the morning of the wedding :-)

Kirsten and Zach - It's clear you are already the best of friends and have many wonderful stories to tell. When people say you're crazy for committing to something as daunting as loving one person with all your heart for the rest of your lives, may you remember New Year's Eve 1999 and that sometimes, for better or for worse, the craziest and most impossible ideas are the best ones of all.

With Love,
Kate

M&M Samoa Blondies

Adapted from eatatallies.com

1 1/4 cups unsalted butter

2 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1 (12 oz.) bag mini M&Ms (with a few reserved for the top)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13-inch pan with foil and spray lightly with nonstick spray. 
2. Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until it browns and begins to smell nutty (watch it closely so it doesn’t burn). Allow the butter to cool slightly.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the browned butter and sugars.
4. Stir in eggs, vanilla and salt.
5. Add the flour and stir just until combined.
6. Add the coconut and M&Ms and stir to combine.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula or wet fingers. Sprinkle a few additional M&Ms on top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let the blondies cool completely before turning them out onto a cutting board and slicing into squares.

Coldbuster Smoothie

Breaking news, bakers of the world! Come and see it for yourself - the world's largest, hottest, oven! What's this amazing new product called, you ask? Why...New York City, of course!

We're ROASTING out here.

Seriously. If we had a car, we'd be baking chocolate chip cookies galore. Alas, no car, no cookies. :-(

We've been trying to beat the heat by drinking our cool in the form of fabulous, freezing smoothies. But the recipe I want to share with you today is actually not inspired by this miraculous-yet-miserable heat wave. It's a celebration.

Meet Christie & Charles. Tomorrow, they'll have been married one month! Happy one-month-iversary!

Kate and I met Christie at school in 6th Grade Choir. Apart, we were three wee, shrimpy little things - one soprano, one second soprano, one alto. But put us together, and bam! - you've got beautiful three part harmony. (Yes, yes. Super cheesy. But Christie wouldn't mind, so I'm not apologizing. :-)

We've been friends ever since, and we've shared a lot in the past 17 years. From matching Halloween costumes (cutest Care Bears ever), to just a little bit of fame (at our school, Show Choir kids were popular), to our deep faith and passion for liturgical dance, you might say we're three cookies cut with the same cookie cutter. Hehe.

Lookin' awesome in our sequin Show Choir vests!

But back to the smoothie. You see, I blame Christie's mom for my addiction to these cool and semi-healthy treats. It was 1996, and Christie, Katie, and I had just finished a "gig" as Dancing Fairy Princesses, and by "gig", I mean we taught a bunch of little kids a dance at a birthday party while wearing fabulous purple lyrical dresses and crowns made out of that star garland stuff. We were totally cool.

Anyways, on the way back to Christie's house, her mom asked if we wanted to stop at Jamba Juice (which had just changed it's name from Juice Club). There are three things I remember about what happened next:

1. Christie's mom insisted I get the Coldbuster smoothie, to combat the sniffles I was apparently suffering from;
2. That smoothie was one of the most wonderful things I had ever tasted; and
3. On the walkway up to the house, the bottom of my cup just FELL OUT.

Kate adds this anecdote to her memory of that day: "Christie's mom made me and Christie split the rest of our smoothies with Becca, since hers was all over the sidewalk. That was totally not fair!"

But they did share their smoothies with me. Because that's what friends are for.

So this homemade Coldbuster is for you Christie, in celebration of our friendship, and in honor of this next exciting chapter in your life with Charles. May your life together be filled with happiness, health, and love! Cheers!

-Becky

Coldbuster Smoothie
Inspired by Jamba Juice
Makes approximately 24 ounces

2 generous scoops peach frozen yogurt or orange sherbet
1 large banana, sliced and frozen
1 cup frozen peaches
4 ice cubes
3/4 to 1 cup orange juice

1. Place all ingredients except orange juice in blender or food processor.
2. Pulse a few times to break up ice cubes and frozen fruit. (Note: You may wish to microwave the frozen peaches for about 15 seconds to thaw them just slightly.)
3. Turn blender on, then pour orange juice through hole in top of blender. Blend until smooth.
4. Pour into a glass, grab a straw, and enjoy!