When I started learning about 'Clean Eating' earlier this year I quickly realized that the phrase can be interpreted many different ways. For some people it means no gluten, for others it means no sugar and for others it means all organic foods. The definition that made the most sense for me and my family is the one that Lisa Leake used during her 100 Days of Real Food pledge. Here is a quick summary of the 'rules' she followed:
Now, these are the rules the Leakes used during their pledge and though I'd LOVE to live this way 100% of the time, I realize that it's not realistic for me. However, I do try to eat by these rules most of the time. Rather than commit to 100 days of real food like the Leakes did, they offer a different challenge to their readers - A 10 Day Pledge! For as much as I've learned about and talked about Clean Eating over the past 8 months I've yet to take this pledge myself. That's all about to change! I'm excited to announce that I am going to take the 10 Day Pledge beginning August 12, 2014! ( We have this little event coming up known as my daughter's 9th birthday...so I thought I should wait til after that!) I invite YOU to join me and sign up for the pledge yourself so we can do it together! So, now that we've defined what Clean Eating means to me, I'd like to share a recipe with you. I thought that a great way to start off the blog would be with dessert, of course! Brownies! I first tried these brownies a few months ago when my friend made them for her diabetic daughter. Only after my non-diabetic kids devoured these brownies she told me that they were gluten free AND sugar free! Since my older daughter has a major sweet tooth and has never met a carb she didn't love, I thought these would be a fantastic addition to her lunchbox in a few weeks. These are made with a high quality almond flour (I find mine at Costco) and honey which my kids love! The original recipe calls for chocolate chunks and orange zest. Though I really enjoyed the orange zest, it got mixed reviews in my house so I omitted it. Also, in an effort to make these completely sugar free I omitted the chocolate chunks as well. If I were making these for a special occasion I would totally use them, but for an everyday lunchbox treat I think they are just fine without them. Also, to add a little extra depth to them, I topped them with a little fleur de sal when they were done baking. Fudgy Brownies (Gluten Free and Sugar Free)
Makes 16 1/2 cup blanched almond flour 1/4 cup cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel (or other flaky sea salt) 3 eggs 1/2 cup honey 1/2 cup coconut oil Pinch of fleur de sel (for garnish) Preheat oven to 350° F. Line an 8x8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Butter the parchment or spray with extra virgin olive oil. Place almond flour in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth and any chunks have broken down. Pulse in cocoa powder and fleur de sel until mixture is well blended, about 10 seconds. Add eggs, one at a time, and process until mixture is smooth. Add honey and coconut oil and continue blending until the mixture is smooth and all ingredients are fully incorporated. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool about 15 minutes before removing from the pan using the parchment to lift it out. When brownies are completely cooled, sprinkle with additional fleur de sel and cut into 16 squares.
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Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend! If you overindulged a bit (and don't we all?) I have the perfect recipe for you! This is another recipe that features my very favorite fruit: the avocado. Over the past few years I have developed a lower and lower tolerance to milk (and sadly, milkshakes), so I've been enjoying less and less smoothies and milkshakes. I had read many times that avocados are a great addition to shakes and smoothies to get the creaminess that is missing from non-dairy versions. I had never actively searched for a recipe but once I came across this recipe on Pinterest and knew this was one to try! Lots of smoothies look healthy but are secretly filled with tons of sugar and calories. What I like about this smoothie is that it is dairy-free (yaaay!), contains 1 1/2 servings of fruit, is sweetened with honey, not sugar and has tons of protein. This drink totally disguised itself as a chocolate milkshake to my two princesses! JP liked it and Bean loved it. My little Bean definitely acquired Mommy's avocado obsession :) It's chocolate-y and creamy and sweet, but not too sweet. The avocado is there, but I swear you can barely taste it. It's a great way to sneak a lot of healthy things into your kids! Chocolate Banana Avocado Smoothie Serves 2 1 cup unsweetened almond milk 1/2 cup crushed ice 1 ripe banana 1 tablespoon honey (you can use dates if you want to make this vegan) 1/2 ripe avocado 2 tablespoons natural cocoa powder 2 tablespoons almond butter (make your own here!) 1 1/2 teaspoons ground flax seed Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth, about 30 seconds. Source:
Adapted from Against All Grain My current food focus these days is healthy, easy and tasty. Portability never hurt, either. I'm also trying to cut back on my consumption of meat, sugar and dairy. I will NEVER cut these things out of my life entirely - I simply love food too much - but I'm doing my best to pick mostly whole foods for most meals and snacks. Last summer I came across these Energy Bites on Pinterest and they were a huge hit! However, they contain chocolate chips and sweetened coconut, which are fine, but in trying to limit my sugar I decided to avoid making them for a little while. So I kept searching. Thank you to all of you bloggers out there who do "Best of" posts at the end of each year! Thanks to Anne at fannetastic food I found these tasty little morsels as well as inspiration for lots more healthy meals in the months to come! This particular recipe is as easy as they get. You will need a food processor to get the best results. You simply combine almonds and raisins together in the food processor to form a paste, then flavor the paste and form into balls or bars. That's it! Anne's original recipe flavored the balls with ground cinnamon but I used a little imitation rum extract for the rum raisin flavor I was looking for. Anne's recipe is gluten-free and vegan. To the best of my knowledge I believe the addition of the imitation rum extract does not change this fact. If anyone out there knows otherwise, I would love some education on the matter! As you can imagine, these are highly customizable. You could use vanilla extract in place of the rum extract or you could swap out the nut/fruit combo. I plan to try an cashew/date version soon to simulate my favorite LARABAR! Rum Raisin Balls Makes 12 balls or 6 bars 1 cup slivered almonds 1 cup raisins 1/2 teaspoon rum extract Put almonds and raisins in a colander and rinse with water. Drain. Place wet almonds and raisins in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until a thick paste has formed, about 30 seconds. Form into 12 balls or 6 bars. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Here we are, almost halfway through the school year and I've accomplished a big feat! My 2nd grade daughter has been a fan of school lunches and, for the price, I never minded her buying them. At a little over $2 a day she can get a pretty decent, balanced, kid-friendly lunch. Well, the problem with that is, well....she doesn't! I surprised her during lunch one day last April and I caught her eating an ice cream cone while her otherwise healthy lunch items sat there on her tray untouched! When I questioned her about it she had a perfectly logical answer: "I have to eat the ice cream first Mommy. It would melt if I didn't." Doh! How many times had she done this? I couldn't be too upset, she was only 6 after all. After a doctor's visit over the summer I'd discovered the my petite little girl had gained a whopping TEN pounds in first grade! Whoa! Time to 'Mom Up' and start packing lunches for her. We have a little system in place to keep mommy and daughter happy. Some things have worked, some haven't. A few things that are a constant are 1 fruit, 1 veggie, 1 sandwich and 1 'junk' each day. Thankfully, she DOES eat those fruits and veggies so when she was asking for a jelly sandwich every single day I kind of let it slide. About a month ago I started reading labels more carefully. Yep, as suspected, high fructose corn syrup in her little jelly sandwich (cut out in the shape of a heart these days!). Time to make another change and give DIY jam-making a try. How simple! Just combine some fresh fruit, sugar and lemon juice and let it thicken up a bit and you have jam! This is only a small batch so you don't have to worry about getting into the canning game - I'm certainly not there yet! This recipe produced a nice, thick, fresh tasting blueberry jam. It tastes like summer on a spoon! Anything that tastes like summer is much needed in Pennsylvania these days. Ugh...don't even get me started on how much I hate winter and how I feel like it's never going to stop snowing or if I'll ever see my toes again.... Anyhow, I digress! This jam takes about a half hour of your time and makes about 2 cups. The only downside to this recipe is that it only lasts in your refrigerator about 3 weeks. But that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Just pair it up with some homemade almond butter and reinvent your PB&J for a yummy throwback lunch! DIY Blueberry Jam
Makes about 1 1/2 cups 1 pound blueberries 3/4 cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons lemon juice Place a metal spoon in the freezer to chill. Combine blueberries, sugar and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. While bringing the mixture to a boil mash the blueberries with a potato masher or a fork to release the pectin of the fruit. Once the mixture is boiling, reduce to medium. Simmer vigorously until the mixture thickens and is jamlike, about 8-12 minutes. To test for consistency, remove the spoon from the freezer and dip into the jam. Allow the jam to run off the spoon. Jam should fall off the spoon slowly, in one thick clump. If it does this, it is done. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. If the jam is too thin, continue simmering another 2-4 minutes until it reaches desired consistency. Once jam has cooled to room temperature place in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks. Source: Adapted from The America's Test Kitchen DIY Cookbook Have you all heard about the current almond butter craze? I've known that almond butter has existed for years and though I love it, I've always steered away from buying it simply because of the cost. With my health kick/lifestyle change over the past month I've been reading some health & fitness blogs in addition to my running magazines and can I tell you something? Almond butter is EVERYWHERE!! It's packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein and tastes great in place of peanut butter on a sandwich, celery or pretzels or even in a smoothie. I decided to just suck it up and buy a tiny, overpriced jar of this awesomeness during my next grocery run. As I stood there in the nut butter aisle I pondered my choices. I could either buy a $10 jar of almond butter, or the cheaper $8 alternative. I went with the $8 choice. I had it in my hand. I put it in my cart. Then, it hit me! I recently bought myself some new cookbooks and I had remembered seeing a super easy recipe for making almond butter at home!!! I immediately put the little jar back on the shelf and hauled butt over to the nut aisle where I found a 1 pound bag of roasted almonds for $5! Score! Let's give this a try!!! I made a few modifications to this recipe. The most notable being using already roasted almonds instead of raw. Since the recipe stresses the importance of having warm almonds when processing to bring out the oils I decided to still throw them in the oven for a few minutes. If you use raw almonds, roast for 10-12 minutes until they are fragrant and slightly darkened. DIY Almond Butter
Makes about 1 1/2 cups 1 pound whole, roasted almonds 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt Adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Preheat oven to 375° F. Spread the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Roast about 6 minutes, until fragrant. (Be very careful with this step. It only takes a few seconds for nuts to go from perfectly roasted to burnt.) Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly, until they are cool enough to handle - about 15-20 minutes. Place almonds in a food processor for about 1 minute, until they resemble coarse meal. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Continue processing. After another minute or two you will have a very firm mass. It will be difficult to scrape down the bowl at this point - that's perfectly ok. Continue processing for another 2-3 minutes. The oils in the nuts will begin to break down and the mixture will start to look like a paste. Stop to scrape down the bowl. It should be pretty easy to do at this point. Add the salt to the nuts and process for about another 30 seconds. This whole process should take about 5-7 minutes. What you will be left with is gorgeous, tasty, pure almond butter!! Store in an airtight container. It can be kept at room temperature or refrigerated for up to 2 months. Source: Adapted from The America's Test Kitchen DIY Cookbook I know I've said this before and I know I'll say it again, but, it's time for me to get healthy in my diet! I am a runner and I've always loved to exercise, but when it comes to eating healthfully I definitely don't always practice what I preach. My love for cooking, baking and eating always wins over in the end. So I'm constantly on a quest to find recipes that I can have fun creating in the kitchen AND not feel guilty if I accidentally eat half the batch! Ooops! Last night I broke open Williams-Sonoma's Essentials of Healthful Cooking and this recipe caught my eye instantly. I've made meringues before and I know a few things about them - 1. they are very low in calories 2. they require very few ingredients and 3. they are the perfect sweet and crunchy treat any time of day. This recipe had me particularly excited because it calls for Dutch process cocoa powder and I finally scored myself some while on vacation in Richmond, VA at For the LOVE of Chocolate. I had heard about this store on my favorite blogger's site, Annie's Eats, and I'm so glad I stopped in! I could have bought a ton of stuff to bring home but since the temperatures were near 100° and we were nowhere near our hotel I decided not to. I did, however, treat myself to a Dark Chocolate and Bacon Truffle. Oh. My. Gosh! So rich and smoky. I'm a huge fan of bacon in/on my sweets so this was a real treat for me! Back to the meringues, I'm not sure if it's the cocoa powder or what, but these are so yummy! I've had, oh, um, maybe 6 since they came out of the oven an hour ago and the girls have probably had 3 each. No worries though, because the recipe makes a ton! Chocolate Meringues
6 egg whites (make sure to have NO egg yolk remnants in the egg whites or you will never get stiff peaks) 1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder 1 1/4 cups sugar, divided Pinch of kosher salt Position 2 racks in the center of the oven and preheat to 250° F. Line 2 baking sheets with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside. Sift together the cocoa powder and 1/2 cup of the sugar into a medium bowl. Set aside. Place egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on medium speed until very frothy, about 1 minute. Add a pinch of kosher salt and continue beating until soft peaks form, about 2-3 minutes. Increase the speed to high and begin to gradually add the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, allowing sugar to fully incorporate between each addition, about 10 seconds. Once all the sugar has been incorporated continue beating until stiff peaks form, about 1-2 more minutes. Sprinkle 1/3 of sugar/cocoa mixture over the egg whites. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the sugar/cocoa mixture into the egg whites, being careful not to deflate the egg whites. Once the sugar/cocoa is fully incorporated, repeat with another 1/3, then the final 1/3 of the sugar/cocoa mixture. Once all the sugar/cocoa is incorporated into the egg white mixture, transfer to a large pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe meringues onto the prepared baking sheets in the formation of a ladylock, about 2 inches long. (You can get creative here and pipe any shape you like, really!) Space the meringues about 2 inches apart. Bake until meringues are completely dry, about 2 1/2 hours. Transfer pans to wire racks to let them cool completely. Once cool, carefully lift off trays and place in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Source: Barely adapted from Essentials of Healthful Cooking by Williams-Sonoma I'm about to make a confession. A confession that may get me beaten by 90% of the people I know. I don't like chocolate cake. There. I said it. It's out there. I like chocolate candy, chocolate pudding and sometimes chocolate ice cream, but not chocolate cake. That's why I'm super excited to share with you my little creation I call a Chocolate Milk Cupcake! It tastes like, well, chocolate milk! Super moist with a hint of chocolate in the cake topped with buttercream that not only has chocolate milk in it, but also chocolate syrup. To finish it off I top it with a bit of that fleur de sel that I love so much to give you that salty sweet satisfaction! When I first started getting serious about cupcake baking I came across an incredibly delicious eggnog cupcake on Annie's Eats. Everyone, everywhere loved these cupcakes. After the holidays passed I was wondering how I could tweak this recipe a bit and make it a year-round favorite. I swapped out the eggnog for chocolate milk, made some other additions and this little baby was born! Chocolate Milk Cupcakes with Chocolate Milk Buttercream Makes 12-14 cupcakes For the cupcakes 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour ** 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 cup Creme de Cacao 1 cup chocolate milk - whole milk variety 1/4 cup canola oil 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup sugar Preheat oven to 350. Line a standard cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment mix together Creme de Cacao, chocolate milk, canola oil, vanilla and sugar. Beat on medium speed until well blended. Gradually add dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Scoop the batter into cupcake liners filling them about 2/3 full. Bake for 22-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. ** These cupcakes can be made Gluten Free by using 1 1/3 cups high-quality Gluten Free Flour Mix. I use Gluuteny Basic Flour Mix from Gluuteny. For the Fleur de Sel Buttercream
Makes enough to frost 12-14 cupcakes 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (I use Plugra European butter) 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted 2 tbsp chocolate milk 1 tbsp vanilla 2 tbsp chocolate syrup 1/8-1/4 tsp fleur de sel Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream the butter for about 1 minute. Add 1 cup of confectioner's sugar and mix on low until well combined. Add chocolate milk, vanilla, chocolate syrup and fleur de sel, mixing for about 30 seconds. Add the remaining 1 cup of confectioner's sugar and mix until just incorporated. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 5-7 minutes. Transfer frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a large tip and swirl frosting onto cupcakes. Drizzle with additional chocolate syrup. Strawberries and champagne. Is there a more perfect combination of flavors that say love and romance? I don't think so! I was so excited when my friend asked me to bake up a batch of these yummy, romantic cupcakes to present to his wife on Valentine's Day. Would I be able to do it? Yes! What an honor! This recipe is another one from The Cupcake Diaries by the sisters from Georgetown Cupcake. I got this book as a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law and I was really excited to make this recipe for our New Year's Eve celebration. I followed the recipe and made these in mini-form. Though they were ok, I wasn't completely happy with them. This time around I made these in the standard cupcake pan and tweaked the frosting just a bit - I kept the ingredients exactly the same but added them in the same order/technique that I usually do. One thing I found a bit odd about the cupcake recipe directions is that it called for room temperature eggs and milk, but not butter. I did as directed and used cold butter and this batch came out amazing! I was so proud to present these to my friends! They were a hit all-around and a perfect little treat on Valentine's Day! Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes with Champagne Buttercream Makes 20-24 cupcakes For the cupcakes 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, diced 1/2 cup good champagne 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour ** 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 8 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 3/4 cups sugar 2 large eggs, at room temperature 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 1/4 cups whole milk, at room temperature Preheat the oven to 350. Line 2 standard cupcake pans with liners. Set aside. Soak the strawberries in the champagne. Set aside. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream the butter for about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on medium speed until well incorporated. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing slowing after each addition. Add the vanilla extract to the milk in a liquid measuring cup. Reduce the mixer speed to low, then gradually add one third of the flour mixture, followed by one third of the milk mixture, beating until well incorporated. Add another third of the flour mixture, followed by another third of the milk mixture. Stop to scrape down the bowl, as needed. Add the remaining flour mixture followed by the remaining milk mixture and mix until just combined. Drain the strawberries of the excess champagne and gently fold the strawberries into the batter, just until incorporated. Scoop the batter into the liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool in pans for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. ** These cupcakes can be made Gluten Free by using 2 1/2 cups high-quality Gluten Free Flour Mix. I use Gluuteny Basic Flour Mix from Gluuteny. For the Champagne Buttercream
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (I prefer European butter, such as Plugra) 4 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon whole milk 1/8 teaspoon salt (I use kosher) 1/2 cup good champagne Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream the butter for about 1 minute. Add 2 cups of confectioner's sugar and mix on low until well combined. Add vanilla, milk, salt and champagne, mixing for about 30 seconds. Add the remaining 2 cups of confectioner's sugar and mix until just incorporated. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 5-7 minutes. Transfer frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a large tip. Swirl frosting onto cupcake and enjoy! Source: Slightly adapted from The Cupcake Diaries This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar. Anyone who knows me knows I kind of have a thing for cupcakes. I'm not sure when my obsession began, but I do have a memory of Mrs. Kessler, my kindergarten teacher, tearing the bottom off of a cupcake and sandwiching it on top. That was her favorite way to eat them. For some strange reason I sit here 32 years later and actually remember that! As for why I'm obsessed with cupcakes? Well, they're CUPCAKES, of course!! What's not to love!! Sweet little treats made just for you! Though my love for cupcakes has been lifelong, it's only been in the past few years that I've really started honing my baking skills and learning how to bake delicious, unique cupcakes. To that end, I was fortunate enough this past week to bake some yummy cupcake treats for two special occasions (I'll share the second one a little later this week!) These Vanilla Raspberry Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream were to celebrate a friend's little boy's 4th birthday party. My friend came up with the flavor combination and I'm really happy with the results! I used a basic vanilla cupcake recipe from The Cupcake Diaries, by the sisters at Georgetown Cupcake. I filled them with a raspberry jam from Annie's Eats and topped them with my favorite chocolate buttercream, slightly adapted from Williams-Sonoma Family Meals. I'm not a huge chocolate frosting person, but I could eat this stuff by the gallon! Its creamy and sweet, but not too sweet..it's just heavenly! Ok, full disclaimer here: I suck at photography. Well, maybe I'm not that bad but hubby got a new fancy, schmancy camera a few months ago and I attempted to use it to take pictures of my cupcakes all frosted and ready to go. Little did I know I forgot to use the flash! So, the first picture you see above is doctored up a bit with the help of my photo editor! Vanilla Cupcakes with Raspberry Filling and Chocolate Buttercream Makes 22-24 cupcakes For the cupcakes 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour ** 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 3/4 cups sugar 2 eggs, at room temperature 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 1/4 cups whole milk, at room temperature Preheat oven to 350. Line a standard cupcake pan with liners. Set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar for 3-5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing slowly after each addition. Add the vanilla to the milk in a liquid measuring cup. Add one third of the dry ingredients followed by one third of the milk, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Repeat. Stop to scrape down the bowl as necessary. Add the last third of the dry ingredients followed by the last third of the milk, mixing slowly until well incorporated. Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners filling them about 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pans for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled completely make a hole in the center of the cupcake for the raspberry filling. You can cut a hole with a small paring knife, but my favorite way to do this is with an apple corer. Make sure not to go the whole way through the cupcake. You can replace the 'cap' back on the cupcake if you want. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Your cupcakes are now ready to fill! ** These cupcakes can be made Gluten Free by using 2 1/2 cups high-quality Gluten Free Flour Mix. I use Gluuteny Basic Flour Mix from Gluuteny. For the Raspberry Filling 8 oz frozen raspberries, thawed 3 tbsp granulated sugar 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch 1/2 tsp lemon juice Drain the thawed raspberries, reserving the liquid in a liquid measuring cup. Add enough water to equal 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the liquid, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Mix well. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture boils and thickens. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely. Stir the raspberries into the cooled mixture. (Depending on the texture you want you can smash the berries or leave them whole. You can also strain through a mesh sieve to remove the seeds if desired.) Transfer to the refrigerator to chill. It will thicken as it chills. ** I like to make the filling the night before so it's ready when I am. When the cupcakes are ready to fill remove the 'cap' of the cupcake. Using a small spoon, fill each cupcake with some raspberry filling. Replace the 'cap' if desired. For the Chocolate Buttercream 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (I prefer European butter) 4 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted 1 tsp kosher salt 1/4 cup whole milk 2 tsp pure vanilla extract 1/2 cup cocoa powder 3-4 tsp very hot water In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter for 1-2 minutes. Add the salt to the confectioner's sugar. On low speed, gradually add 1/2 of the powdered sugar mixture to the butter. Slowly add the milk and vanilla extract. Add the remaining confectioner's sugar and beat until combined. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Turn the mixer on medium-high speed and beat until fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Sift the cocoa powder over the frosting and beat on low speed until just combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Gradually add the hot water (to activate the cocoa flavor) being careful not to add so much that the frosting becomes too wet. Continue beating the frosting for an additional 1-2 minutes. Transfer frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a large tip. Swirl frosting onto cupcake and enjoy! Sources:
Cupcakes: Very slightly adapted from The Cupcake Diaries Raspberry Filling: Annie's Eats Chocolate Buttercream: Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Family Meals Peanut Butter and Jelly. An American classic. Though I didn't eat a ton of PB&J sandwiches growing up there is something incredibly delicious about this super simple combination. When I saw these cupcakes on Annie's Eats the other day I knew I had to make them, and soon! We spent most of this past weekend celebrating our youngest daughter finally being diaper-free and being medically cleared from a swallowing disorder she'd been dealing with for 2+ years. I decided these cupcakes would be the perfect treat to finish off our weekend of kiddo celebrating, which included playtime at the Y, Mac & Cheese at Cheesecake Factory and (gulp) dinner at Chuck E Cheese. Funny story about the butter in this recipe. Though I almost always use unsalted European butter in all my frosting, I was out of it and didn't feel like making a special trip to the store. I used the generic brand in the fridge. Only once I had the butter in my mixer did I realize it was SALTED butter! Oh the horror! To compensate for the salted butter I omitted the salt from the original recipe. What a delicious mistake!! I will always make this recipe with salted butter! Hubby and I thought these were the best cupcakes I've ever made. Our 6-year-old non-peanut-butter-loving daughter ate some frosting and all the jelly off one cupcake and never went back for more (Seriously...whose kid is this???) But our 3-year-old loved them as much as we did! I'll be making these cupcakes again soon and when I do I'll be making a Gluten Free version for my father-in-law. I've made a few versions of GF cupcakes in the past and they've come out very well. All you need to do is sub out the all purpose flour for a high-quality Gluten Free Flour Mix. I use Gluuteny Basic Flour Mix from Gluuteny. Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes Makes about 24 Cupcakes Ingredients: For the cupcakes: 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour ** 3/4 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 12 tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 1/3 cups sugar 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter 3 large eggs 1/2 cup sour cream 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 cup buttermilk For the filling and topping: Any type of jam or jelly you like. I used strawberry and raspberry For the frosting: 2 sticks salted butter, at room temperature 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter 3 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 2 tbsp heavy cream Directions: Preheat the over to 350 F. Line the cupcake pans with paper liners. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a fine-mesh strainer placed over a bowl. Sift the mixture into the bowl and whisk to blend. Set flour mixture aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy. Blend in the peanut butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, stopping to scrape down the mixer bowl if necessary. Blend in the sour cream. Turn the mixer to low speed and mix half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Mix in the buttermilk and vanilla extract, then add the remaining dry ingredients just until combined. Fill the cupcake liners approximately 2/3 full. Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Let the pans cool on a wire rack for a few minutes before removing cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely. To fill the cupcakes, use the cone method by taking a small paring knife to hollow out a v-shaped hole in the cupcake. Add a small amount of the jam or jelly of your choice. Cut the tip off the v-shaped cake piece and place the 'lid' back on top of the cupcake until ready to frost. To make the frosting, combine the butter and peanut butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth. Mix in the sifted confectioner's sugar. With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla and heavy cream just until incorporated. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and whip until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a large frosting tip and swirl on in a circular motion. Using the tip of a small spatula or the back of a spoon make a small indentation on top of the frosting. Add a dollop of the same jam/jelly you used for the filling. ** If making these Gluten Free, use 1 3/4 cups high-quality Gluten Free Flour Mix _
Source: Cupcakes: Annie's Eats, originally adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Frosting: Adapted from Annie's Eats |
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