bee's knees & a giveaway.

I was roaming around Albertson's the other day, in search of something cheap to buy so that I could get cash back when using my debit card. Immediately, I went to the bakery section. After passing by various cakes, bite-sized brownies, and lofthouse cookies, my eyes stumbled across this pretty little thing. There were actually four different designs.. a butterfly, a bee, a flower, and something else that I can't quite remember.

So why did I choose the bee? It was the cutest one! And plus, we need to save the honey bees! Did you know that honey bees alone are responsible for 1/3 of the crops that we eat? If honey bees were to become extinct, the human population could only survive for 4 years before becoming extinct as well (according to Albert Einstein). The weird thing is, no one really knows why they are dying out. We know that hives are experiencing Colony Collapse Disorder, where bees desert their hives for no apparent reason and die. Haagen-Daz has been really active on saving the honey bees and you can even find more information at their website, HERE.

To be honest the cookie wasn't very good. It was a lemon sugar cookie with royal icing, but I was never really a fan of lemon baked goods. At such a steal for $1.99, it doesn't hurt to buy the cookie just to look at. :)

I'm almost at 200 followers and just wanted to celebrate with a giveaway! I'm giving away a pastry dough scraper from Crate & Barrel. The rubber grasp makes it easy to grip and work with, while the ruler on the stainless steel comes in handy when trying to measure out the dough (one side is in inches and the other side is in centimeters.. perfect!).

For a chance to win, just leave a comment with your favorite sugar cookie shape by next Monday, August 3rd, 11:59 PM Pacific Time. Good luck!

Cookie Cupcakes

Starting earlier this month on July 1, 2009, major food chains have to put their nutrition facts on their menus. Ever since then, I've been thinking twice before ordering... is it just me? Some of the calories and fat in my favorite dishes are well over 1000 calories. How ridiculous is that? They did this in order to help prevent obesity and improve America's diet. Do you think it'll actually work? It's working on me and I'm not even overweight. Of course, I'll always order my half oreo/half chocolate chip pizookie at BJ's, regardless of how many calories it has because it's just that good.

Sometimes you stumble across a recipe where you just HAVE to make it, right then and there. This was definitely one of them. I saw this on Bakin' Bits, a brand new blogger to the food world! Her pictures and recipes all look amazing and I am looking forward to new posts from her.

These cupcakes are quite addicting. They're a mix between cupcake/cookie and reminded me of a pizookie. The batter itself is definitely more of a cookie batter than a cake batter. It wasn't too sweet and the walnuts were a perfect addition. Try it for yourself!

Cupcakes:
1/2 cup butter, softened
6 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup & 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Filling:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
2. Combine the flour, baking soda, & salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
3. Fill paper-lined muffin cups half full. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until top of cupcakes appears set.
4. Meanwhile, make the filling. In small bowl, beat the brown sugar, egg, & salt until combined. Stir in chocolate chips & walnuts.
5. Drop filling by rounded tablespoonfulls into the center of each cupcake. Bake 10 minutes longer or until a toothpick inserted in the cake portion comes out clean.
6. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

I'm finally back from my cruise/family vacation! I went on a 5 day cruise to Ensenada, and honestly, if I had the choice, I wouldn't do it again. Cruises are just not for me. That was my first cruise that I've ever been on and I just wasn't very impressed. I'm not a fan of being stuck on a boat for a week. Don't get me wrong, the idea of an all-you-can-eat buffet for every meal and 24 hour room service are definitely some perks, but I'd much rather spend my vacation roaming on land than going 20 miles max in the water.

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com and was very pleased with it! I halved the recipe and it made 10 cupcakes. The only difference is that I upped the cocoa powder for more of a chocolate flavor and added more vanilla extract that usual. Also, I would keep my eye on this when baking and lower the baking time. I don't think they needed to bake for that long, since the top came out kind of dry. The inside was pleasantly moist, though.

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line muffin tins with paper cups or lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt until light and fluffy. Stir in the chocolate chips and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, 1 cup sugar, cocoa, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Make a well in the center and add the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Stir together until well blended. Fill muffin tins 1/3 full with the batter and top with a dollop of the cream cheese mixture.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

Blueberry Crumb Coffee Cake

So with all my free time lately, I decided to re-watch Battlestar Galactica, starting with season 1. It's just that good. Don't judge me until you've seen it! It may be totally nerdy, but it's amazing.

I went on my first beach trip of the summer yesterday and decided to bake some goods to take along in my "new" picnic basket. I've been hunting for a picnic basket for a year, but didn't want to spend the 100 bucks on it (seriously, they're THAT expensive for a good one!). I finally found one at a garage sale.. brand new with tags! The real bang is that I got it for 2 whole bucks! I guess the phrase "someone's trash is another one's treasure" really is true.

This coffee cake is perfect. It's ridiculously moist and just delicious in every way. Everyone that tried it loved it and even came back for seconds. I got it from Cooking Dunkin Style and you can find the recipe HERE. I sprinkled some raw sugar on it afterwards, which is always a good idea to me :) I also used cookie cutters to cut it into fun shapes.

• 1.5 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup milk, I used 2%

Topping

• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tbl butter

1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2.) Mix flour, baking powder and salt on waxed paper.
3.) Cream softened butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy, beat in the egg.
4.) Place blueberries in a small bowl, dust with a small amount of the flour mixture. Toss to coat.
5.) Add the remaining flour mixture and milk alternately to creamed mixture, mixing continually
6.) Gently fold blueberries into batter.
7.) For the topping, mix flour, sugar and cinnamon (Ginger if you wish) in a small bowl, cut in butter until crumbly.
8.) Spread batter into a greased 8 inch square baking dish.
9.) Sprinkle topping over batter.
10.) Bake for 45 minutes or until topping is golden brown.