July Bakin Friends

It's the last day of July which means 1) it's my birthday in 5 days and 2) summer is almost over and fall is close!!! Fall is my favorite season. I love the weather, the change in foliage and the fashion is perfection in my opinion. I can wear flats, loafers, booties, and oh sweaters and jackets! I am getting way too excited just thinking about all the shopping I have to do. Like these loafers I've been stalking for way too long and waiting for them to go on sale! Oh I can't even get started on my love for pumpkin, apple, cinnamon, nutmeg and all the great spices of the fall.

But enough about my obsession with the almost end of summer (don't hate), it's Bakin Friends reveal day!!

 
Bakin Friends is celebrating it's first year anniversary this month and our secret ingredient was Sprinkles!! How fitting :). I was matched with Erin, the brains behind the blog, The Spiffy Cookie. I actually found out about the group Bakin Friends through Erin a few months ago when I started blogging and I am so happy she introduced me to this group of amazing bakers! Erin is a PhD student just like me and has been a great blogging big sister; always been there to answer all my questions as I find my way in the blogosphere (Thanks girl!).

If you haven't been to her blog yet, you totally should. She is always creative with her food and desserts and I was very excited to see what she will come up with. When I received her package, I was blown out of my mind. She sent the most beautiful package and it was filled with not one, not two but three great baked goods!! Yes three!! All sprinklefied!!

The first treat I sampled were these no-bake funfettinutter granola bars. They are filled with creamy peanut butter and packed with crispy rice cereal, white chocolate and sprinkles. Sounds amazing right? Yeah, they were AMAZING! They were chewy with lots of crunch! You can find the original recipe here (Erin adapted it slightly).

As if that wasn't enough, she included the best cookies I've ever had! These birthday cake s'mores cookies came at the right time when I was craving some s'mores and they definitely satisfied that craving. The cookies are so soft and moist!! Freaking delicious.

Last but definitely not the least, she included these cake batter chocolate barks. I didn't know you could add cake batter to chocolate bark. What a great idea, right? Well it adds flavor to this chocolate bark and takes it to the next level!

Needless to say, I was extremely SPOILED by Erin and I am so grateful!! I enjoyed every single one of these and it was very hard to share. Thanks Erin for not only setting a good example, but for all the amazing goodies :). I really need to step up my game and make more treats for my bakin friends. 

Would you like to join this fun group? (You totally should, it's fun!). Head over to Steph's Bite by Bite and read all about it here!

S'more Cookie Bars

Do you ever get fixated on one thing? Like an intense craving for something and that's all you can think about for days? This happened to me recently and the result were these s'more cookie bars. 

I've been craving s'mores since two weeks ago when we visited my in-laws at their camping site for a day. The kids put together a fire pit and there was roasting of marshmallows and making of good ole s'mores. But unfortunately for me on that day, I was fasting and was unable to indulge in the festivities. Bummer right? That's how my fixation with s'mores started and last weekend I settled the score with these bars and boy just looking at them satisfied my s'more craving.

This is an incredibly quick and easy recipe to make. You start with a graham cracker cookie dough that is topped with a layer of  marshmallow creme (or fluff). Top that with hershey chocolate squares and then add a layer of mini marshmallows. Finally, top with the remaining graham cracker dough. Oh and sprinkle some chocolate chips on top too just because you can never have too much chocolate. Such goodness my friends!

You get a soft, chewy graham cracker cookie bar that is filled with ooey gooey melted chocolate and marshmallow and is everything a s'more should be! A lot better in my opinion, but you can be your own judge. Since I am not a fan of camping, I got my campfire treat in my living room without the dragon flies!! If it wasn't so hot outside, I would have turned on the fireplace to set the mood :) (Hmmm, I just might make this again in the winter!)

Whether you are heading up to camp or just a family BBQ, these will be a great hit so bring them along. Just try not to taste them before the party starts because I can't promise how many might make it! 

S'more Cookie Bars
Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 cup Graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
7 ounces jar of Marshmallow Creme (Marshmallow fluff)
6 (1.55 oz Bars) Hershey's Chocolate bars, unwrapped and cut in squares
1 cup mini marshmallows
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 x 8" square baking pan with baking spray and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until well combined, about 3 minutes on medium speed. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
Reduce speed to low and stir in flour, graham cracker crumbs and baking powder until just combined.
Divide the dough in half and spread half at the bottom of the pan. Smooth with a rubber spatula. Evenly spread the marshmallow creme over the dough and smooth. Place chocolate squares on top of marshmallow creme. Top chocolate with the cup of mini marshmallows. Top with the remaining half of the dough. Spread with a rubber spatula. It is OK if you can still see the marshmallows. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the cookie dough.
Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow cookie bars to cool COMPLETELY in pan before cutting. Otherwise you may end up with some oozy marshmallows (it's not the end of the world).

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Blondies {Pass the Cookbook Club}

It's the last Thursday in July which means it's time for another installment of Pass the Cook Book Club!

This month, the cookbook of choice was Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust by Ina Garten. I love Ina (who doesn't right?) and as an avid Food Network fan, I was introduced to her early in my culinary journey. One of my earliest successful chocolate cake recipes is from Ina's archive and it's still my go-to for a moist chocolate cake.

So I was very excited about this month's choice and went straight for the dessert option (duh!) on the list of three recipes (Chocolate Chunk Blondies, Easy Gazpacho & Goat Cheese Croutons & Foolproof Ribs with BBQ sauce).

I made the chocolate chunk blondie recipe two ways. First in its original state with chocolate chunks and it was glorious. But the second time, I adapted the recipe to include Reese's peanut butter cups instead of chocolate chunks and because I have been on a brown butter kick lately (see brown butter week here, here and here), I browned the butter as well to enhance the flavor.

All I can say is, these blondies are the BOMB!! They are moist, crunchy and addicting. The loaded peanut butter chunks were a great addition and they added extra moisture to the bars. In addition, the brown butter caramelized the flavors and I loved it! You need to try them...ASAP seriously!! As always, any recipe from Ina is amazing and this book is already waiting in my cart for my next amazon order.


Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Blondies
Adapted from "Foolproof: Recipes You can Trust" Ina Garten

Ingredients:
½ lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, browned and cooled at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
½ cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 extra large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1 ½ cups chopped walnuts
1 lb. Reese's peanut butter chocolate chunks

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 9 x 11 x 2-inch baking pan.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on high speed for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well, scraping down the bowl after each addition. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chunks with a rubber spatula.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Don’t overbake! The toothpick may have melted chocolate on it but shouldn’t have wet batter. Cool completely in the pan and cut into 12 bars.

(Affiliate link included)

Please take a minute to look at all the other recipes from club members!

Cherry Hand Pies

Hello friends!! I made pie crust again and filled it with cherries to make these scrumptious cherry hand pies :)

Remember how I said I was scared of making pie crusts? My first two attempts last year were total disasters so I've stayed away from pies since. But after this strawberry tart, I decided to give it another try. This time around, I went with hand pies because they transport easily and the hubby and I were planning on a picnic at the lake.

If you are looking for a great pie crust recipe, I found the one. I love this recipe because it's only four ingredients; flour, sugar, salt and butter and it makes a flaky buttery crust each time. What is key in the process is keeping your butter chilled and using iced cold water. I used a food processor to pulse the flour and butter, but you don't need to use one. Joy the Baker has a great recipe here in which all you need are your two hands. I love using the food processor and it has made this daunting task manageable for me.

For the dough, you pulse your flour, sugar and salt together, then add your chilled cube sized butter to the mixture and pulse a few more times until the mixture is coarse and corn meal looking. Be very careful not to over work the mixture because you will warm up the butter. If you do, chill for a few minutes. Add ice cold water and pulse for a few more rounds until the dough comes together. And there you go, you have dough that would make a flaky pie crust once chilled and baked!

These cherry hand pies have a flaky, buttery crust on the outside and a sweet cherry filling on the inside. You can control how sweet the filling is by increasing or decreasing the amount of sugar. I used less than recommended (~1/3 cup) because I like things to be less sweet and it was perfect for me.

Making pie crust is getting easier and I am taking baby steps towards a full blown pie. You just might see one pretty soon :)


Cherry Hand Pies
Adapted from bon appetit
Makes 1 pie crust or about 6 hand pies 
 
Ingredients
For Pie Crust
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

For filling:
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups fresh cherries, stemmed and pitted
2/3 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons raw sugar

Directions:
To prepare dough:
Prepare 1/4 cup ice cold water and keep in fridge. In a food processor, pulse flour, sugar and salt.  Add in half of the butter and pulse for 30 seconds. Add in the rest of butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Add 1/4 cup water (one tablespoon at a time) and pulse until dough comes together in clumps. If dry, add a little bit more water (1 teaspoon at a time). Remove dough from processor and form into a square. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 2 hours. The dough can be made up to 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.

Let stand at room temperature 15-30 minutes before rolling out. 

To prepare filling:
In a small bowl, stir the cornstarch and 1 1/2 tablespoons cold water until dissolved. In a large saucepan set over medium heat, combine the cherries, sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Cook stirring occasionally for 5 minutes until the juices are released from the cherries. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. You will have more filling than you need for the pies.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a large rectangle (about 18 x 15'). Use a sharp knife and cut out 6x5" rectangles; about 6 to 7.

Assembly:
Whisk egg white and 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Working with one rectangle at a time, brush the edges with egg wash and fill with 2-3 tablespoons of cherry filling on one side. Fold dough over filling making sure the edges meet. Use a fork to crimp the edges and seal the pie. Cut a few slits on top of pie to vent. Place on the prepared baking sheet.
Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

Brush the top of pies with egg wash and then sprinkle with raw sugar. Chill the pies for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the pies until the tops and bottoms are lightly browned, about 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool completely on baking sheet. Enjoy. Store leftovers at room temperature.

Cinnamon Raisin Bagels

Soft, chewy and crisp homemade cinnamon raisin bagels

Who doesn't love a good bagel? I used to eat bagels all the time in college and I never considered making a homemade bagel until I saw Lindsay's July Kitchen Challenge. Having never worked with yeast before, I was quite nervous of how this would turn out but excited at the same time to finally use the dough hook that came with my kitchenaid mixer almost a year ago.

So of course, I decided to make my favorite kind; cinnamon raisin! After reading several recipes and how-to videos, I settled on a recipe from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day found on Epicurious. The recipe highlights most of the important steps that goes into making a soft, chewy bagel; including making a dough sponge that is chilled overnight and then boiled before baking. There are a few shortcut recipes around but I wanted to have the whole experience if I was going to do this.

Bagels are made with high-gluten flour or bread flour and it's the extra gluten in the flour that gives it that distinctively chewy texture that we all love so much. The process of making bagels starts with making the dough, which after kneading should be silky and not-sticky. You will then allow the dough to rise at room temperature for an hour or two before shaping the bagels and chilling overnight.

Did you know that bagels are boiled? Yes, they are boiled before baking. After chilling the dough, the bagels are subjected to a floating test and then boiled for 2-3 minutes. This boiling, in addition to the high gluten, makes bagels chewy and crusty. I never knew that! The things you learn in the kitchen!
 
The end result are very soft, chewy and crisp bagels. I loved the faint flavor of cinnamon and the juicy raisins in every bite. I love my bagels un-toasted with cream cheese (weird I've been told) and that's exactly how I had my first taste!!

My verdict: It may have taken two days, but the process is not very involved and quite straightforward. Making the dough as a first timer took some time but once I got over the fact that my kitchenaid mixer (poor Suzy!) wasn't going to explode, it was simple. We enjoyed our soft cinnamon raisin bagels very much. I will be making more bread in my kitchen after this experience. Of course, knowing me, my beginner's luck will run out the next time (ahemm macarons) but stay tuned for more bagels in the future because the flavor combinations are endless!

Recipe:
You can find the detailed recipe here on Epicurious. I followed the instructions closely as possible. I found the first method of shaping the bagels worked best for my tiny hands.

(Some affiliate links included)

Raspberry Lemonade Muffins

One of my favorite things about summer is the vast amount of fresh fruits especially berries in season and my breakfasts definitely reflect this. I usually have a bowl of mixed berries with yogurt but when I want to spice things up a little (aka I have a little bit of time on Sunday and I'm bored) I whip up some muffins for an easy grab-and-go breakfast. And lately I've been all about fresh fruits in my baked goods (blueberry bundt cake and strawberry cupcake). 

These raspberry lemonade muffins are no exception. They have a good dose of fresh raspberry and lemon making them tangy and perfect for summer or spring since that was when I first made them. 

I've been holding out on you on this one. This is the third time I've made them in the past three months. In my defense, the first time wasn't a planned blog post, just a simple muffin for breakfast. But they were so moist and I loved the raspberry lemonade combination very much that I decided to remake them a few weeks later to share with you guys. Never got around to the pictures because half of the jumbo muffins disappeared in a day (Mr J. is slowly learning that he can't just eat everything on the counter). Luckily third time was the charm and they were just as amazing as the first time.



A moist muffin with two of my favorite summer flavors; it's a win-win situation here! You can substitute your favorite berries (strawberries, blueberries or even blackberries) to satisfy your craving. I hope you can find time this summer to whip up these muffins. You won't regret it!!

Raspberry Lemonade Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

Adapted slightly from Iowa Girl Eats

Ingredients

¼ cup butter, room temperature

¼ cup plain Greek yogurt

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup milk

1 tablespoon lemon zest (about 2 lemons)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 ½ cup all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup fresh raspberries

For crumb topping:

¼ cup flour

2 tablespoons butter, cold

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tin with liners.

In a large bowl, combine butter, yogurt and sugar and beat for one minute until combined. Add in eggs, one at a time and beat to combine. Add milk, zest, lemon juice and vanilla and continue beating for another minute.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the wet ingredients in three separate batches, mixing each time until well combined. Fold in the raspberries by hand using a rubber spatula.

Divide the batter evenly into the prepared muffin tin cups, filling each ¾ of the way. To make crumb topping, mix crumb ingredients in a small bowl and work the butter into the mixture with your hands until it is crumbly. Sprinkle on top of muffins.

Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in muffin tin completely.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Buttermilk Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze

July is National Blueberry Month and to celebrate of course I had to make a cake! I didn't want to make a traditional cake and after seeing this bundt cake in the current issue of Food Network Magazine, I knew it was time for me to cross off bundt cake on my baking bucket list. So I bought a bundt pan (shhh: I felt like a big girl!) and grabbed some fresh blueberries and gave it a try this weekend. 

The process of making a bundt cake is much like making a cake, except you have to be super careful not to over-mix the batter. If you are successful, you get a light and airy cake, which is exactly what this blueberry buttermilk bundt cake is. It is extremely moist and I think the addition of vegetable oil helped with this. I loved the texture of the blueberries in the cake too, they stayed very juicy. I was scared the blueberries might sink to the bottom, but I tossed them in flour before adding them to the batter and they remained floating in the cake as you can see. The cake itself is not too sweet so the lemon glaze is a perfectly sweet way to top it off!

I brought this cake to lab yesterday and it was quickly devoured by my lab mates. When I asked them what they liked about it, two things stood out: moist cake and delicious glaze! And that's exactly how I would sum up this cake. I can't wait to make more bundt cakes and thanks to my lab mates, I already have some special requests for more summer flavored bundt cakes.

For you blueberry lovers, Tracey at Tracey's Culinary Adventures is having a blueberry week (super awesome right??) starting off with this delicious blueberry-lime cream cheese pound cake (another thing on my baking bucket list: pound cake). Check it out!

On another note, I’m taking part in a great bake sale (Muffins for Muffin Online Bake Sale) that is happening tomorrow Wednesday July 17^th at 8am on Kita’s blog Pass the Sushi. Kita is hosting the bake sale to help raise some awareness about animal abuse and also raise funds for a puppy (Muffin) that was found neglected, abused and with terrible chemical burns. Miss Muffin has a long road ahead and this bake sale will help with her medical expenses. I’m donating my brown butter salted caramel chocolate chip cookies to the sale. Please head over there and take a look at all the other amazing treats and on Wednesday bid/donate to help Muffin. Click here for more details.

Recipe:

Blueberry Buttermilk Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze

Adapted from Food Network Magazine July/August 2013

Ingredients:

3     cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2½ teaspoons baking powder

1¼ teaspoons salt

1     cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1¾ cups sugar

¼   cup vegetable oil

4    large eggs, room temperature

1    teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¾  cup buttermilk, room temperature

2    cups blueberries (about 1 pint)

For Lemon Glaze

2½ cups confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 to 4 tablespoons milk

  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a nonstick 12-cup Bundt pan (mine is 10-inch and worked great). In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 cups of flours, baking powder and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the sugar, oil and butter on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add in the eggs, one at a time and beating until combined. Beat in vanilla extract.

Add in a third of the flour mixture and half of the buttermilk. Mix until just combined. Then add another third of flour and the rest of the buttermilk. Mix again until just combined. Scrape down the side of the bowl as needed. Add the rest of the flour and mix for 30 seconds. Finish incorporating the flour into the batter by hand with a rubber spatula to avoid over mixing.

In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the remaining two tablespoons of flour. Pour or spoon a third of the batter into the prepared pan, sprinkle half of the blueberries on top of the batter then top with another third of the batter. Scatter the rest of the blueberries on top of the batter and then top with the last third of the batter. Smooth the top.

Bake until cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes to an hour. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow cake to cool in pan for 30 minutes. Using a small sharp knife, run it around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake and then invert the cake onto a cooling rack (lined with parchment paper) to cool completely.

For the glaze: Whisk together all the ingredients in a small bowl. If the glaze is too thick, whisk in a tablespoon of milk, a little at a time.

Just before serving, pour the glaze over the cake and allowing it to drip down the sides.  Enjoy!

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies {Brown Butter Week}

These cookies actually started my obsession with brown butter that manifested into brown butter week. I was testing a few recipes for salted caramel cookies for June Bakin Friends when I came across these. The first batch were too chewy for my taste so I didn't end up sending them to my baking friend. But I kept working on the recipe and I changed a few things and then browned the butter and the second batch gave me these wonderful cookies.

I made them twice to be sure and mailed them to my biggest critique and taste tester in Virginia. She is brutally honest and isn't afraid to hurt my feelings as my husband can sometimes be. She loved them so much that she called me three times in one day, each time with specifics about what she liked. 

I like soft cookies and that's exactly what these are. They are very soft and gooey on the inside and so crisp on the exterior. You will love them too! There is nothing not to like here. Seriously! Brown butter and salted caramel were made for each other because the flavors complement each other perfectly. I know you shouldn't pick favorites, but these are my favorite cookies yet!

This is a great recipe and a perfect way to end brown butter week!! We've had peanut butter brownies, some fluffy peach cupcakes and now these soft salted caramel cookies all loaded with wonderful brown butter. Thanks for putting up with me this week as I went on and on about my new found secret ingredient. You are the best! And I hope you will give some of these recipes a try, especially these cookies! 

Have a great weekend :)

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: About 20 cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, browned and cooled to room temperature

1¼ cup packed light brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg and 1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

¼ cup homemade salted caramel sauce (I used this recipe)

Sea salt for sprinkling

Directions:

To brown butter: Cut butter into pieces and melt in a saucepan over medium heat. Start to whisk constantly once the butter begins to foam. When the butter starts turning brown, fragrant and you see brown bits at the bottom of the pan, remove from heat. Transfer to a mixing bowl and allow to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two cookie sheets lined with wax or parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cooled butter and sugars on medium speed until well combined, about 3 minutes. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla and beat until combined. Add in half of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Add the rest of the flour and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand and stir until combined.

Using a small cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop one tablespoon of dough, press the center with your thumb and fill with about 1 teaspoon of caramel sauce. Place another scoop of dough on top and press together to seal the caramel sauce inside. Place on cookie sheets.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden brown. Cool on baking sheet for about two minutes and sprinkle cookies with sea salt. Transfer to cooling rack.

Adapted from Bakingdom

Brown Butter Peach Cupcakes {Brown Butter Week}

Brown butter week continues with these amazing brown butter peach cupcakes. But before we talk about cupcakes, let me share with you my favorite thing about brown butter. My favorite thing isn't the fact that it takes just 5 minutes or less to brown butter, but the aroma from the browned milk solids. It makes your house smell heavenly and that aroma is transferred to whatever recipe you are using it in. I wonder if Bath & Body Works makes this scent? If not they need to get on it because brown butter just beat their kitchen spice candle on my favorite list. 

On to the cupcakes please! I got these peaches from my trip to the farmers market and intended to use them in a peach cobbler. I even bought these cute little ramekins for the cobblers but I changed my mind when I thought of making brown butter cupcakes. So I made a brown butter peach cupcake and topped it with whipped brown butter buttercream. 

These fluffy cupcakes have a great nutty flavor from the brown butter that complements perfectly the ripe white peaches. You see the speckles in the frosting? That's the brown bits from browning the butter. When you brown your butter, you can choose to include the brown bits from the bottom of the pan in your recipe, which I did and totally encourage because you get a deeper flavor profile. 

Since I know Mr. J isn't a fan of peaches, I took all but two cupcakes to my local soup kitchen (I usually leave 6 for us if it is something he would enjoy). But by the time I came back home that Sunday, those cupcakes were ghosts and never to be found. I'm glad I had my taste earlier. Now he agrees he will eat peaches when paired with brown butter. (Trend alert: He hated broccoli before my existence and one day I paired it with parmesean cheese and he loved it. Now he eats it even without the cheese. I'm learning here)

I have more brown butter goodness this week so please come back! In the meantime, my bloggy friend Molly of Bakelette is celebrating her first blogiversary this week. Stop by and wish her and her lovely blog a happy birthday!

Brown Butter Peach Cupcakes

Yield: About 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

¾ cup butter (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, browned and cooled

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¾ cup buttermilk, room temperature

½  cup fresh peaches, peeled and finely diced

Directions:

1.     To brown butter: Melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Start whisking butter once it begins to foam. Whisk constantly for a few minutes until the butter turns brown, fragrant and little brown bits form at the bottom of the pan. Remove immediately from heat and cool.

2.     Preheat oven to 350^oC. Line muffin pans with cupcake wrappers. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

3.     In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until well combined about 3-5 minutes.  

4.     Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down side of bowl as necessary. Mix in vanilla extract.

5.     With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with 2 batches of buttermilk and beginning and ending with flour. Beat until just combined.

6.     Fold in peaches by hand with a rubber spatula until combined.

7.     Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling 2/3 to the top.

8.     Bake until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. About 20-25 minutes 

9.     Transfer pans to wire racks and let cool in pans for 2 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Whipped Brown Butter Frosting

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, browned and cooled to room temperature

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

3 cups sifted powdered confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk

A pinch of salt

1.     To brown butter: Melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Start whisking butter once it begins to foam. Whisk constantly for a few minutes until the butter turns brown, fragrant and little brown bits form at the bottom of the pan. Remove immediately from heat and cool completely to room temperature.

2.     Whip softened butter for 4 minutes on medium speed using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer. The butter will become pale and creamy.

3.     Add the rest of the ingredients (including the brown butter) and mix on low speed for 1 minute. Then increase speed to medium and mix for 6 minutes until the frosting is very light, creamy and fluffy.

4.     Best used right away

(Some affiliate links included)

Brown Butter Peanut Butter Paisley Brownies {Brown Butter Week}

Have you ever browned butter? I'm sure the answer is YES for most of you foodies but for the rest of you who have not, then let me tell you, you are missing out on a secret ingredient. I was in the same boat until a few weeks ago when I decided to give it a try while trying a new cookie recipe and I was pleasantly surprised. 

 
So what is brown butter you ask? It is simply cooking butter beyond it's melting point to where the milk solids brown and you cook away most of the water. But you see, browning your butter enriches its flavor and gives it a rich caramelizing nutty flavor that takes any recipe that calls for butter up a notch. And in the past two weeks since my discovery of this secret ingredient, I've tried brown butter in everything from these brownies to pan seared scallops. Obsessed much?? I know, that's why I decided to have a brown butter dedicated week on the blog!! So let's start off with these peanut butter paisley (wanna-be) brownies.

Peanut butter fans, you will love this. It is a double peanut butter chocolate brownie!! I found the recipe on the back of the Reese's peanut butter chips label and I had to try it again with brown butter. Of course, I think it is much better with brown butter because there is an added nutty flavor to the peanut butter and chocolate medley. I think you would love this combination of flavors. The brownies also have soft centers as you bite into the chocolate layer but as usual my favorite part is the crunchy edge :)

Here are a few tutorials on how to brown butter. It is very easy and all you need is 5 minutes. So go brown some butter today! And please come back during the week for more brown butter recipes :)

theKitchn: How to brown butter 
Simply Recipes: How to Brown Butter
How Sweet it Is: Step-by Step pictorial instructions

Brown Butter Peanut Butter Paisley Brownies
Yield: About 20 brownies

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, browned and cooled to room temperature
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 2/3 cups peanut butter chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips, melted and cooled

Directions:
To brown butter: Cut butter into pieces and melt in a saucepan over medium heat. Start to whisk constantly once the butter starts to foam. When the butter starts turning brown, fragrant and you see brown bits at the bottom of the pan, remove from heat. Transfer to a mixing bowl and allow to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and peanut butter until combined. Add the sugars and beat well. Add the eggs, one at a time and beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

Add the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture and mix until well combined. Stir in the peanut butter chips.

Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Spoon the melted chocolate over the top and spread evenly. Using a cookie scoop, add the rest of the batter on top. Spread the batter evenly with a spatula and then swirl with a metal spatula or knife for marbled effect.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into squares and serve.

Adapted from: The back of Reese's Peanut Butter Chips