Update

I’ve been at college for over two months now.

My most accurate way to describe it would be busy, busy, busy, but incredibly cool.

I’ve made a few desserts since I’ve arrived, but it’s hard to carve out time to take pictures. (And on a side note – there’s always someone to eat your desserts. It’s great!)

I’ll definitely keep posting, but expect my posts to be less frequent than before (although, not that I was particularly reliable before college).

Until my next post, enjoy a slice of banana bread! The recipe can be found here.

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Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars

I’m very particular about peanut butter. Offer me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on honey whole wheat bread and I’ll be unreasonably happy, but offer me a peanut cookie or slice of cake with peanut butter frosting and I’ll be less inclined to accept.

I can never tell if I’ll like a particular peanut butter dessert, so I usually just make recipes and hope I like them.

The other day I stumbled upon this recipe for peanut butter oatmeal bars while looking for a recipe to make for friends. They looked delicious so I decided to make them, figuring that if I didn’t like them others would.

I didn’t have any Reece’s and planned to add chocolate chips instead, but halfway through making the bars I remembered seeing a recipe for peanut butter jelly bars, and decided that, yes, that was what I needed in my life.

I was right.

These bars are intensely good. The peanut butter flavor is subtle but still evident, and the jelly adds a delightful gooeyness. They’re soft and buttery and fragrant. Yum.

If you’re looking for a fun recipe to try, I would definitely make these bars (now, optimally). If you’re gluten free or vegan, I’ll post a similar recipe that you can enjoy soon!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars

Recipe adapted from here.

• ¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temp
• 2 cups light brown sugar
• ½ cup peanut butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 2 ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup peanut butter baking chips
• strawberry jelly or jam

1. Cream together the butter and brown sugar.
2. Mix in the peanut butter.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating the mixture until smooth.
4. Stir in the vanilla.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, salt, and peanut butter baking chips.
6. Fold in the wet ingredients until no flour streaks remain.
7. Pat 2/3 of the dough into a greased 9×13 inch pan.
8. Spread a layer of strawberry jelly or jam over the dough, using however much desired. (I added just enough so the bottom was completely covered.)
9. Add the remaining dough to the top of the jam in small chunks.
10. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until golden the top is light to medium golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the bars comes out clean.

Chocolate Macarons

I’m not going to sugarcoat this: macarons are finicky little beasts.

Out of the various times (read: 5 or more) I’ve tried to make them, all batches have failed to some degree.

Sorry to say, the batch pictured was somewhat of a failure too. I admit I’m sort of deceiving you with these pictures.

This batch wasn’t a disaster by any means and the macarons tasted delicious, formed adorable ‘feet’ and had a perfectly soft/chewy texture combo, but the other ¾ of the batch had cracks.

I’m pretty sure it’s because I didn’t let the macarons rest long enough before baking them, given the last ones in the oven had the fewest cracks. Lesson learned.

From my many attempts at macaron making, I can give the following tips with confidence:

1. Let the macarons rest!
2. Weigh the ingredients. For a while I didn’t have a scale and thought measuring in cups would work just as well. It doesn’t.
3. Let the macarons cool before filling. The last thing you want is to ruin a perfectly good beautiful batch of macarons with runny filling – I know from personal experience.
4. If the macarons stick, wipe a damp cloth on the bottom side of the parchment. (Works best if they are still warm.)
5. Don’t over or under fold the batter. Over folding can cause excessive spreading, and under folding can lead to bumpy macarons. (I wasn’t lying when I said macarons are finicky.)
6. If you succeed on your first try, gold star for you (and please, send some of your skills to me!). If you don’t, try again.

Chocolate Macarons

• 150 grams powdered sugar
• 110 grams almond meal
• 10 grams dutch processed cocoa powder (~2 tbs)
• 100 grams egg whites
• 50 grams sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

1. Sift together the powdered sugar, almond meal, and cocoa.
2. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form, gradually adding the sugar. Stir in the vanilla,
3. Fold the dry ingredients into the whipped egg whites until no streaks remain.
4. Pipe or scoop the batter onto 3 parchment paper lined baking trays. Allow to rest for at least an hour and a half.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 16 minutes. If the macarons stick to the parchment, wipe the bottom side of the parchment (below the macarons) with a damp cloth. This should loosen them and make them easier to remove.
6. Fill with ganache.

Chocolate Ganache

• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate
• ¼ cup heavy whipping cream

1. In a saucepan, heat the chocolate and heavy whipping cream until a smooth chocolate mixture forms.
2. Cool until spreadable.

On a side note, I’m interested in posting more dinner recipes! For some reason, I’m feeling quite sugared out. Lately I’ve been cooking my own meals (or having my mom order takeout), so there’s a bunch I can potentially share!

Lemon & Almond Ricotta Cake with Berries

Originally, my family’s Christmas eve plans included lasagna. My mom commissioned me to make it, and per my request went grocery shopping, buying noodles, tomatoes, and tubs of ricotta cheese among other ingredients.

The problem was, no one really wanted lasagna, and I didn’t especially want to make it either. I made a sample batch, and with homemade tomato sauce, it took me nearly three hours. I couldn’t really imagine repeating that process, especially in the midst of our Christmas dinner chaos.

So, instead we had fish tacos, shrimp, beans, rice, turkey, and mashed potatoes…a strange (but delicious) combination. Seeing this left me with two and a half tubs of ricotta cheese, I decided to make ricotta cake for dessert. I’m not a fan of cheese in dessert (though I’m learning to appreciate cream cheese frosting – cheesecake is still a nope), but the ricotta simply made this cake deliciously tender and moist.

Everyone loved it, so much so that I’ve made two batches to use up all the ricotta. I brought it to a gathering with friends, and every last crumb was devoured. My friends and family all loved it, so hopefully you’ll try it and love it just as much.

Lemon & Almond Ricotta Cake with Berries

NOTE: The first time I made the recipe, I used a loaf pan. The second time (pictured) I doubled the recipe and baked it in a 13×18 in jelly roll pan.

• 1 ½ cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cups oil
• 1 ½ cups whole-milk ricotta
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp almond extract
• lemon zest from 1 lemon (save the juice for a glaze – recipe below)
• 1 carton (~1 ½ cups) blackberries/raspberries
• ~½ cup sliced almonds (i used the extra crushed almonds from a batch a macarons i made)

1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Whisk together the oil, ricotta, and sugar in large bowl for several minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the extracts and lemon zest.
3. Add the dry ingredients, and stir until most of the flour is incorporated.
4. Fold in the berries, continuing to stir until no streaks of flour remain.
5. Pour in a 9 inch loaf pan, sprinkle with almonds, and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
6. Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool on rack completely.

Lemon Glaze

• Juice from 1 lemon
• ½ – 2 cups powdered sugar (depending on how much lemon juice))

1. There are two ways to use the lemon: for a glaze or for an ‘infuser’.
2. To make a lemon glaze topping, combine the juice from the lemon and enough powdered sugar to form a thin glaze. Pour or spread over cooled cake.
3. To make a lemon ‘infuser,’ add enough powdered sugar to temper the sourness of the lemon juice. Poke the cake with a fork when still warm, then pour the sweetened lemon juice over it. The sauce will add additional moistness and flavor.
4. I can vouch that both work well for this cake! It’s a great way to use up the part of the lemon the cake doesn’t use.

Black Bean Chocolate Cupcakes (Gluten free)

These cupcakes are like eating a cloud of fluffy chocolate brownie cake frosted with the inside of Lindor truffles.

My dad has been sneaking into the kitchen and taking two at a time, and he usually only nibbles at the desserts I make. I can’t blame him though; I’ve lost count of how many I’ve eaten.

These cupcakes are super chocolatey, and not too sweet (though a extra quarter cup of sugar or a few drops of stevia can fix that if sweeter desserts float your boat) and the frosting tastes like the inside of lindor truffles. Really, it does!

The cake is more creamy and dense than traditional chocolate cake and it reminds me somewhat of brownies, but that’s the only distinction I can make. There’s no bean taste whatsoever.

If you’re feeling particularly healthy, you could replace the eggs with egg whites and sugar with erythritol, but these aren’t bad as is. So relax, and eat a couple (or ten).

Black Bean Chocolate Cupcakes

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup cooked black beans
• ¼ cup oil
• ¾ cup cocoa
• ½ cup sugar (increase to ¾ cup if you like sweeter desserts)
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp salt

1. Blend all the ingredients in a food processor, blender, or with a hand emersion blender until smooth. The batter should be very creamy and thick – like chocolate pudding.
2. Divide into 30 mini cupcake liners.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-13 minutes.
4. Frost, or eat plain!

Inside of Lindor Chocolate Truffles Frosting

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ¼ cup coconut oil

1. Combine and microwave until melted.
2. Let sit at room temperature until spreadable, or speed up the process using an ice bath.
3. Frost the cupcakes!

Five Minute Oatmeal Pancakes!

Five minutes from now you could have seven pancakes. Seven soft, fluffy gluten free pancakes that taste just as delicious as their wheat-filled counterparts. Honestly, they’re easier to make than regular pancakes and I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to make flour ones again.

I’ve made this recipe six times in the past week – three times plain, once with chocolate chips, and twice with cocoa – and all versions received raving reviews from my parents and peers alike. Make this recipe, fall in love, and never spend more than five minutes making pancakes again.

EDIT: From an attempt to cook these pancakes on a regular frying pan, I’ve realized how important a nonstick surface is. So unless you want to make scrambled pancake, use nonstick!

Five Minute Pancakes 

(1 minute for gathering ingredients, 1 minute for blending, and 3 minutes to cook; it’s really that easy!)

• ¼ cup old fashioned oats
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon powdered sugar (I use 1 pitted date!)
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup milk
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender.
2. Blend for about a minute, or until the mixture is smooth.
3. Cook at medium-high heat on a non stick pan until golden brown.
4. Serve plain, or with syrup, jam, ice cream, or chocolate sauce.

Costa Rican Banana Cake

I’ve been to Costa Rica twice.

The first time was in 2009, when a past Spanish teacher invited some of his other former students to join a group of his current students on a trip there. Most of former students (the people I knew) couldn’t go, which left just my friend Sonia and me.

By that point, even though I had taken Spanish for three years, I would still fumble during simple conversations. My parents allowed me to go on the conditions that I would speak solely in Spanish, but considering I was there with 20 other teens and a close friend, none of whom could speak much better than I, that didn’t happen.

Instead I spent close to a week making new friends (in English) and having fun, not a total waste I think! (Though, if you ask my mom and dad, they grumble and say, “Yeah, yeah.”)

Me and Sonia in Costa Rica!

This summer, I lived with a Costa Rican family for three weeks. My days were divided between community service and Spanish lessons, with the occasional excursion on the weekends.

Since I visited with my friend and her sister, I wasn’t completely immersed and did speak some English, but with twenty hours of Spanish classes a week, I definitely improved my conversational skills and learned a lot.

When I’m at home, I tend to cook most of my meals myself, mostly because I’m impatient and can’t bear the lag between asking for food and actually receiving it.

In Costa Rica, my host mother generously set out plates of food for me three times a day, and for three weeks I happily ate black beans, flavored rice, cabbage salad, and vegetables, with the occasional caramel candy or slice of cake.

During one of the excursions, I bought a Costa Rican cookbook from a giftshop, already dreading a life without homemade rice and beans at every meal. It’s filled with recipes for savory and sweet dishes, and all the recipes I’ve tried so far have been successes.

I’ll post recipes for rice and beans soon, but they were both devoured before I could take pictures. Luckily, I snapped some shots of this banana cake in time.

This cake is denser than most banana cakes I’ve had, and the recipe called for cloves and nutmeg rather than cinnamon, but it was still delicious.

Costa Rican Banana Cake [Queque de banano]

EDIT: Looking back at this recipe, I’m realizing how crazy its ratio for liquid vs dry ingredients is. I’m not sure how it baked up properly when I made it, but I’ve edited it to reflect this highly regarded recipe, and kept the spices so that it still has that traditional Costa-Rican™

taste.

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 1/3 cup mashed ripe bananas
• ½ cup butter, melted & cooled
• ¾ cups sugar (the recipe called for twice as much. I think ¾ cup should be fine)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and spices.
2. In another bowl mash the bananas.
3. Add the butter, sugar, eggs milk, and vanilla.
4. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
5. Bake in a greased 9×13 pan for about 40-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Crustless Pumpkin Pie!

(It’s pretty ugly, I know.)

I have no clue why I like pumpkin pie so much. Technically, I think it should revolt me. I don’t like squash, can only stand sweet potato in fry form, and am I firm believer in keeping sugar and vegetables separate. I don’t even like mushy foods.

There’s absolutely no reason why I should be obsessed with a pie that’s basically soft, sweetened squash, but considering this is my third post about pumpkin pie and I’m just approaching 50 recipes, clearly I am. It’s not even a phase! I briefly had another food blog two years ago, and even with only 10 posts, pumpkin pie made an appearance. I might have a problem.

This year, I didn’t even have cake for my birthday – I HAD PUMPKIN PIE – and I’ve been eating pumpkin pie as breakfast (and dessert) for the past three days straight. Is there a pumpkin pie eaters anonymous club I can go to?

Please?

Crustless Pumpkin Pie

Adapted from here.

See when you’re obsessed with pumpkin pie as I, you don’t want any crust distracting you from the real goodness – the filling. So here’s a crustless pumpkin pie recipe I adore. The pie pictured was really just me throwing ingredients together so it turned out a little more custardy than I prefer, but I’ve made the recipe below several times and the pie is always perfect. I even have a picture!

• 1 can PURE pumpkin puree (15 oz)
• 1 can evaporated milk (12 oz)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (I just add heaps of cinnamon, and a little nutmeg, cloves and allspice)
• ½ cup biscuit baking mix (NOTE: For a more custardy texture, I’d reduce this to ¼ cup, OR, I’d  do what I did for pumpkin pie first pictured and add ¼ cup potato starch instead.)
• ¾ cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon molasses (optional, but adds a great flavor)

1. Combine everything but the biscuit baking mix in a food processor. Blend until combined.
2. Add the biscuit baking mix and pulse until smooth.
3. Bake in a greased pie pan for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
4. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream!

Oh, and I forgot to say, Happy Thanksgiving! I’m still recovering from my family’s chaotic nineteen people affair. (Partially because I ate my weight in food.)

Three Ingredient Banana Cookies

These are quite possibly the easiest cookies to make, ever.

They are vegan, gluten free, and sugar free, yet still taste great and are fun to eat. I added some cinnamon and chocolate to make them even more fun.

When it comes to baking on school nights, I’m super lazy, so these were an easy way to use up ripe bananas. Plus, my dad was able to try them, something he isn’t usually able to do because he’s still on his raw food + fish (+ chocolate ice cream, but he’d deny it if you asked) diet.

If you have bananas and want an easy recipe to try, make these cookies. They’re not thick and buttery like most cookies, but they’re still delicious! I ate them with ice cream and melted chocolate – just because.

Three Ingredient Banana Cookies

• ½ cup mashed bananas
• ¾ cup old fashion oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Optional Ingredients (I added all):

• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 cup chocolate chips

1. Mash the bananas.
2. Add ½ cup oats.
3. Grind the remaining ¼ cup oats in a blender or food processor to create a fine powder, then add. OR, simply add the remaining ¼ cups whole.
4. *OPTIONAL* Add in the vanilla extract and chocolate chips.
5. Let the batter sit for 30 minutes.
6. Scoop into round balls onto a baking sheet, flatten with your fingers, and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Classic Chocolate Brownies

I’m currently trying to write my common app essay, which is, to put it lightly, a painful and mind numbing process.

So here are some brownies I made a while ago. (What I would do for one now.)

Classic Chocolate Brownies

adapted from here

• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, vanilla, sugar, and eggs.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
4. Bake in a 9×9 or 8×8 inch greased baking pan at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, or until the sides begin to pull away from the pan.