Cinnassant Buns by Rachel

One of my favorite smells during the holiday season is that warm cinnamon baked-good smell.  I've made cinnamon buns many times, but this time, I wanted to change it up a little.

With all the fuss that's been made about cronuts over the last year, I've spent a lot of time perfecting my croissant dough recipe and I thought that pairing my croissant dough with my cinnamon bun know-how would make a delicious treat.  I was right!

Some of these instructions will look repetitive because it's about the same as making the dough for my fauxnut recipe, but I have posted the instructions here again for your convenience:

Croissant Dough Ingredients
1/2 cup cold milk (I used whole milk)
1/2 cup boiling water
1 tbsp active dry yeast
3 tbsp sugar
3 cup all purpose flour, extra for dusting your surface to roll out the dough
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, very cold and diced into small bits
1 tbsp all purpose flour for the butter

Cinnamon Bun Filling Ingredients
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
lemon zest of 1/2 a lemon
2 tbsp melted butter

Coconut Bundt Cake by Rachel

Summer is here!  Hooray!!

One of my favorite types of desserts for the summer is anything with coconut.  I recently bought a brand-spanking-new bundt pan and I was so eager to test it out.  So I combined my love for coconut desserts with the bundt cake pan and decided to make a coconut bundt!  It was delicious.

The recipe is a little more complicated and requires ingredients to be combined in separate bowls, but I promise you that the result is a fluffy and moist coconut cake that is a real crowd-pleaser!

Ingredients
Bowl 1:
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Bowl Two
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 can of un sweetened coconut milk
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract

Bowl 3:
2 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Toasted coconut topping:
1/2 cup of sweetened coconut
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp water

Apricot Upside Down Olive Oil Cake by Rachel

My parents are in town and when they came to visit my apartment they brought over some beautiful smelling apricots with them.  I'm not a big fan of eating plain apricots- I personally prefer peaches when it comes to eating straight fruit, but apricots are great for baking.  They become a little more tart and tangy after some time in the oven which makes them great for cakes and pies!

I've never made an upside down cake before, but I love how moist fresh fruit can be on top of those cakes so that's what brought me here!

The story with the olive oil is an interesting one.  Recently a little bakery opened near my apartment and the lady that owns the bakery had lived in Italy for some time.  She's imported the olive oil from that little town into her bakery and my fiance brought a liter home.  It smells amazing and has a slight spicy flavor. I thought it would be great with my apricots.  I hope you do, too!  See the recipe below.

Ingredients

Topping
3 tbsp unsalted butter
2-3 fresh apricots, washed, dried and cut into wedges
1/4 cup light brown sugar

Cake
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
3 tbsp good, strong olive oil
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Dark Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes by Rachel

It's been a while since I baked because I've been sick, but now that I'm feeling much better I had to break out some chocolate and make something.

Cupcakes!  Of course!

For Christmas, my future mother-in-law bought me a frosting set, so it was time to break that out and practice.

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 salt
1/4 unsweetened cocoa powder
4 oz. strong espresso, room temperature
1 tbsp whole milk
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter, softened, not melted
dark chocolate to taste (I used 1/2 a bar, crushed)

Frosting
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp whole milk

Lemon Cheese Crumb Cake by Rachel

Well, I made a mistake and ordered way too many lemons from Fresh Direct.  So, with all those lemons staring me in the face and the snow keeping me inside, I decided to do something about them.  I wanted a moist cake with plenty of lemony punch and this crumb cake did the trick.

Ingredients

For the Cheese filling

8 oz of Cream Cheese, softened

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

For the Cake

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup sugar

4 tbsp unsalted butter

1 egg

2/3 cup buttermilk

2 tbsp lemon juice

zest of 1 lemon

For the Crumble

2/3 cup flour

2 tbsp butter, softened, not melted

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

zest of half a lemon

Olive oil for your pan

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding by Heather

If you want a quick and easy but healthy chocolate-y dessert, look no farther!  This dish takes just about 5 minutes to make, and you probably already have most of these ingredients in your pantry.  If you've never had chia seed pudding before, it's kind of like eating tapioca pudding, but crunchier.

Ingredients for 1 Ramekin:
2 Tbs. chia seeds (or enough to generously cover the bottom of the ramekin)
3 Tbs. almond milk (you can use any other type of milk you have on hand)
1 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
dash cinnamon
small dash cardamom
1/2 tsp. honey, plus more for drizzling
1/8 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 almonds
a couple of frozen berries of your choice
sprig of mint for garnish

Chocobites by Rachel

I've developed this terrible habit of really wanting to have something sweet after every meal so, naturally, I needed to find something healthier to have for dessert rather than cookies and cakes all the time.  Well, I think I've found just the thing!

Dark chocolate has just enough sweetness and fruit and nuts have just the right texture.  Combining the two make a delicious dessert!

Ingredients
100 grams of dark chocolate (1 bar of Lindt)
1/4 cup of raisins
1/4 cup of golden raisins
1/4 cup of almonds
1/4 cup crushed walnuts
1/4 cup halved peanuts
1/4 cup dried apricots, diced

Classic Gingerbread by Rachel

Cookies have taken over the blog!  What's a holiday cookie care package without your classic gingerbread. I've always love gingerbread, but had never tried to make it.  After making it, I've definitely learned to appreciate it a lot more.  The work and time it takes to cut out each little man perfectly is something I had severely underestimated!

And you know what else?  The dough is REALLY sticky.  BUT!  Despite these nit-picky little things, gingerbread is, indeed, delicious and is a must-have for a holiday cookie melange!

Ingredients

1 stick of butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup of molasses
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour (plus extra when you are ready to roll out your dough)
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp of salt

makes about 3 dozen thin gingerbread men

Lemon Rosemary Shortbread Trees by Rachel

'Tis the season!!  Having a cookie exchange?  Need to make some cookies for friends?  Well, have I got the cookie for you!

I'm putting together a cookie care package for some of my nearest and dearest friends and I knew I had to include a shortbread, but I wanted something that wouldn't be too sweet to balance out the other cookies that I plan to include.  I had lemons and rosemary in the fridge and thought, "why not?"

Ingredients

2 sticks of butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1 tbsp fresh, chopped rosemary

1 tbsp lemon zest (about 1 lemon)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/4 cups flour

makes about 30 cookies

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies by Heather

Brandon and I make these cookies every Christmas.  They're really chocolate-y and have an unexpected spiciness to them.  This recipe is adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup high quality unsweetened cocoa powder 

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. coarse salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

2 large eggs

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp chipotle chile powder

Dark Chocolate Ganache and Hazelnut Praline Tart by Rachel

The reason why I love baking so much is because you can create such beautiful desserts if you put your mind to it.  Of all the desserts I've made, tarts are my favorite.  I love the way that tarts look they are really a very easy dessert to make.  Don't get scared off by having to make your own crust- you can do it!

I went home to North Carolina for Thanksgiving and my mom gave me a ton of Lindt chocolate that she happened to have (not sure why...), but I took it and turned it into a beautiful tart!  

Ingredients 

For the chocolate crust (8 inch tart pan)

10 tbsp unsalted butter

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 pinch of salt

1/4 unsweetened cocoa powder

1 egg

1 tbsp ice water

Fauxnuts by Rachel

If you haven't heard already, the croissant-donut hybrid has been making headlines and has taken over the throne for trendiest dessert of the moment (from the cupcake, obvi).  So clearly, I had to try to make them on my own just to see what all the fuss was about.  In New York, people have been standing in line for hours at Dominique Ansel Bakery, the bakery that created the Cronut, just to get one.

I don't know about you guys out there, but I don't have time to be standing in line for desserts!  That meant my only option was to try to create a version at home.  I've had a few tasters that have tried the real thing taste my fauxnuts and they've said that I'm pretty close which I take great pride in!  Because the Cronut name is trademarked, mine are fauxnuts. :)

Without further ado, here's the recipe I used- be warned that to make this, you'll need to start about 2 days in advance.  The dough recipe was inspired by Top With Cinnamon:

Ingredients

1 cup cold milk (I used whole milk)
1/2 cup boiling water
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 cup all purpose flour, extra for dusting your surface to roll out the dough
1 tsp salt
1 cup + 2tbsp butter, very cold
Corn oil for frying

For the sugar coating
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

For the glaze
3 tbsp water
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Soft Center Chocolate Cookies by Rachel

For my dear friend, Dana-

I know you love sweets.  You are one of my favorite people to cook for because the smile you get when you taste my food is so gratifying to me.  So, it's probably no surprise to you that I decided to make you a little something special from my kitchen on your special day.  May the next year be extremely happy for you- filled with hugs and kisses from all the people that you love and all the people that love you.  Happy, happy birthday to you!!  :)

xo,
Rachel

Ingredients:
 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
10 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Caramel sauce (recipe found here)

Faux Cream Cheese Frosting and Salted Caramel by Rachel

If you've embarked on making the Spiced Apple Cake and want to fancy it up, you can definitely frost it with your standard buttercream frosting.  I frosted mine with a slightly healthier faux cream cheese frosting and homemade salted caramel.

From this boring cake...

To this yummy creation!

The faux cream cheese frosting is a little lighter and fluffier than your average frosting because I didn't want to weigh down the spiced apple cake since it's a denser type of cake.  It's "faux" because it doesn't actually use any cream cheese.  It uses Greek yogurt and tastes so good with this cake.

Spiced Apple Cake by Rachel

Growing up, I really enjoyed making apple pies.  Even today, I still love making apple pies.  But on this particular day, I was lazy and didn't feel like making a pie crust.  So there.

That's what brought me to making a spiced apple cake.  With apples being so deliciously in season right now, I made my way to a farmer's market and scooped up some Newton Pippon apples, which are perfect for an apple cake.  They're tart just like a Granny Smith, but a little sweeter on the finish.  Perfect for my cake recipe.

Ingredients
2 large Newton Pippon apples, peeled, cored, and cut into large bits
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg

1 stick of unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1pinch of allspice
1 tbsp superfine sugar
7 oz of 2% Greek yogurt (I used Fage)
1 tbsp olive oil