Red Velvet Brownies with White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

For the brownies:

3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

2 oz red food coloring (this is one small bottle or a scant 2 tbsp)

2 tsp pure vanilla extract, divided

1/2 cup (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

For the white chocolate buttercream frosting:
1/2 cup (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

4 oz good-quality white chocolate (not chips), melted – I recommend Callebaut

1 – 2 tbsp heavy cream

To make the brownies:Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter and flour an 8″x8″ baking pan.

In a small bowl, slowly stir together the cocoa powder, food coloring, and 1 tsp vanilla into a thick paste until no lumps of cocoa remain. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then stir in the remaining 1 tsp of vanilla.  With the mixer off, add in the cocoa mixture, then turn the mixer to medium and beat the two mixtures together until they are one uniform color.  Slowly add in the flour and salt and mix on medium-low speed, just until combined.  Do not overmix.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir up the batter with a rubber spatula once or twice just to ensure all of the flour has incorporated from the sides of the bowl and there isn’t anything stuck on the bottom of the bowl.  You’ll want one uniformly colored (red) batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the brownies.  Allow brownies to completely cool in the pan on a baking rack, about 45-60 minutes.  Frost brownies in the pan, cut into 12 bars, and serve, or remove the entire batch from the pan to a cutting board, cut into 12 bars, frost, and serve.

To make the frosting:In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until soft and fluffy then beat in the vanilla.  With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time; allow the sugar to mix in before adding the next 1/2 cup. Once all of the sugar has been added, beat on medium speed for 30 seconds and scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add in the melted white chocolate and beat on medium speed until incorporated.  With the mixer on low, add in heavy cream 1 tbsp at a time and beat at medium speed until the frosting has reached your desired consistency.


source: adapted from How Sweet It Is

White Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken enchiladas with green chili sour cream sauce

10 soft taco shells

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

3 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan

2. Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese.  Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.

3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute.  Add broth and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.  

4. Stir in sour cream and chilies.  Do not bring to boil, you don't want curdled sour cream.

5. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

6. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

Caramel Apple Sticky Buns

Caramel Apple Sticky Buns

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped peeled apple
• 
  
• TOPPING:
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, cubed
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (you can also use chopped apple in place of the nuts)
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla (stirred in after the topping is removed from heat)

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt, and cinnamon. In a saucepan, heat the milk, water and butter to 120 degrees F to 130 degrees F. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add egg; beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour and apples. Do not knead. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile in a saucepan, combine the topping ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring until blended. Stir in vanilla after removing pan from heat. Pour into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Stir dough down. Spoon walnut-size pieces of dough over nut mixture. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
3. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 1 minute before inverting onto a large serving platter.

adapted recipe from allrecipes.com

Chocolate Chip Cookie

Jacques Torres' Secret Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Makes twenty-six 5-inch cookies or 8 1/2 dozen 1 1/4-inch cookies

Ingredients 

1 pound unsalted butter

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar

4 large eggs

3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour

3 cups bread flour

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 pounds bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats; set aside.

- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars.

- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

- Reduce speed to low and add both flours, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and chocolate; mix until well combined.

- Using a 4-ounce scoop for larger cookies or a 1-ounce scoop for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.

- Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies and about 15 minutes for smaller cookies.

- Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

 following tips make this cookie absolutely perfect:

- Don't substitute the pastry and bread flours w. AP flour. I really believe that the combination of the pastry and bread flours give the cookie a nice slightly crunchy exterior giving way to a really tender middle.

- Hand chopped chocolate chunks, NOT premade chips - I will purchase a hunk of the best bittersweet chocolate that I can afford and hand cut them into chunks. The easiest method to chop a block of chocolate: nuke the block at 50% power for a few seconds, no more. It softens the chocolate just enough. Then take a large kitchen knife and chop away! Your effort will be rewarded with really nice ribbons of melted chocolate throughout the cookie.

- Chill the cookie dough at least 24 hours (I let my dough sit anywhere from 2-3 days) before baking. This is not for taste reasons that were recently written about in an article from NY Times (god forbid we're aging cookie dough...let's leave that for wine and cheese). IMHO, refrigeration makes a difference with the look and texture. I think the dough sets in a way so when you bake the cookies, you end up with the lovely wrinkles and folds as the balls of dough spread and bake.

Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients

2.5 cups all purpose flour

1.5 cups sugar

1 t baking soda

1 t salt

1 t cocoa powder

1.5 cups vegetable oil

1 c buttermilk

2 large eggs

1 t distilled white vinegar

2 T red food coloring 

1 t vanilla extract

Method

1. preheat oven to 350

2. lightly oil three 9-inch round cake pans

3. sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl

4. mix all other ingredients in your stand mixture with paddle attachment.

5. add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in mixer.

6. pour batter as evenly as possible into three cake pans
7. bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean once inserted into the middle of the cake. It is best to rotate them half-way through the baking process to ensure even cooking.

8. while the cake layers are baking, make your cream cheese frosting (recipe below).

9. Cool cake completely before you assemble and frost each layer (be patient...i know it's hard to wait)

10. Build cake with a layer of cream cheese icing between each layer. Then spread a very thin layer over the entire thing. This layer is your "crumb coat" and it will catch any wild crumbs that try to attach themselves to your beautiful white frosting.  Chill cake in fridge until crumb coat firms up. 

11. Add final layer of frosting over crumb coat and decorate as you wish. 

12. Do not refrigerate this cake. keep covered if you make in advance. 

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

1 lb cream cheese, room temperature

4 c confectioner's (powdered) sugar, sifted

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 t vanilla extract

Method

1. whip ingredients together in stand mixture with paddle attachment

Bacon Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits with Maple Butter

Ingredients

2 c self-rising flour 

1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 t sugar

1/2 t salt

1 t baking powder 

3/4 c sharp cheddar cheese

7 slices of bacon, roughly chopped

1 c buttermilk

2 T brown sugar, golden

Method

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees F

2. lay bacon on sheet tray and sprinkle with brown sugar. bake until bacon is crisp but not crispy. reserve all bacon grease in a small bowl. 

3. combine flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl. work butter into dry ingredients with your hands until the butter is in small pea-size clumps throughout the mixture. 

4. add the buttermilk followed by the cheese and bacon. as soon as it all comes together in the bowl, dump the dough ball out onto a floured surface and fold over itself 3-5 times. Be careful to not overwork the dough or your biscuits will be chewy instead of light and fluffy. 

5. roll out gently with a rolling pin - but not too much, these biscuits are best when they are nice and thick. Cut the biscuit out using a circle or square ring mold and place onto a sheet tray so that they are touching each other (make sure to spray your tray with Pam first or put some parchment paper down). 

6. brush the tops of all the biscuits with remaining bacon fat that you have reserved in a bowl. 

7. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown on top. 

8. while they are baking, make your maple butter. whip 1 cup of butter with 1/4 cup of grade A maple syrup until combined and fluffy. 

9. Cut or tear the biscuits apart and spread with maple butter while they are still warm.

10. enjoy!

recipe from http://www/.lafemmeepicure.com

Blueberry-Ricotta Pancakes

Serve these light pancakes with our Chunky Blueberry Sauce, maple syrup or honey. Sprinkling the berries on top of the cooking pancakes ensures even distribution. Keep finished pancakes warm in a 200°F oven, if desired, while cooking the rest. RECIPE INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup  whole-wheat pastry flour (see Source) 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons   all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon  sugar 1 teaspoon  baking powder 1/4 teaspoon  baking soda 1/2 teaspoon  freshly grated nutmeg 3/4 cup  part-skim ricotta cheese 1   large egg 1   large egg white 1/2 cup  nonfat buttermilk (see Tip) 1 teaspoon  freshly grated lemon zest 1 tablespoon  lemon juice 2 teaspoons  canola oil, divided 3/4 cup  fresh or frozen (not thawed) blueberries Tip: Source: Look for whole-wheat pastry flour in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets and natural-foods stores. Tip: No buttermilk? Mix 1 tablespoon lemon juice into 1 cup milk.

DIRECTIONS Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and nutmeg in a small bowl. Whisk ricotta, egg, egg white, buttermilk, lemon zest and juice in a large bowl until smooth. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Brush a large nonstick skillet with 1/2 teaspoon oil and place over medium heat until hot. Using a generous 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake, pour the batter for 2 pancakes into the pan, sprinkle blueberries on each pancake and cook until the edges are dry and bubbles begin to form, about 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Repeat with the remaining oil, batter and berries, adjusting the heat as necessary to prevent burning.