fruity cheerios macarons

hello again! yes, i know it's been forever since the last time i posted something here. i haven't been baking a whole lot lately just because i'm trying not to eat too much sweets these days. anyway, i did however get around to baking some french macarons for mother's day and actually remember to take some photos. :)

what i have here are fruity cereal french macarons. who says you can't use kiddie cereals as a macaron flavor? of course, the only not so great thing about this is i have no idea if the cereal is gluten-free or not. mostly likely not in my case. of course, if you want to make some cereal flavored macarons, you can always check your cereal to make sure if it's GF, or else keep in mind these macarons may not be so GF friendly.

okay, so these have become my favorite flavor at the moment. i'm not a big cereal fan but i do love my fruity sugary cereal. this is one way to eat it, you can say. actually, it may be one of the best ways to enjoy those colorful sugary cereals. so if you're up for baking up a batch, why not give this a try?! enjoy and happy baking. :)


this is my new favorite macaron flavor. who says crunched up colorful kiddie cereal can't make for some good-tasting and looking macarons? in love with these.

fruity cheerios french macarons with fruity cheerios buttercream filling

ingredients:

macaron batter:
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup almond meal
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 tsp gel food coloring (optional – i didn't use any here)
1/4 cup crushed fruity cereal (i used fruity cheerios but i'm sure you can use fruit loops or equivalent), for sprinkling on top of piped macaron batter

fruity cereal buttercream:
1/4 cup crushed fruity cereal
2-4 tbsp milk
1/2 stick of butter, room temperature
1 to 1-1/2 cups of powdered sugar

directions:

to make the macaron batter/shells:

1. line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready.
2. sift together the powdered sugar and almond meal so there are no lumps. set aside.
3. in the bowl of a standing electric mixer (or if you prefer, you can use a bowl and hand mixer – this is my prefer method), beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. while whipping, beat in the sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.
4. optinal: add in the gel food coloring.
5. carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. when the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white and the colors have combined, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you're alone).
6. pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1.35-inch circles evenly spaced one-inch apart. then sprinkle the piped batter with crushed fruity cereal.
7. rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons. then let it sit for at least 30-60 minutes depending on humidity before baking them in the oven. about 10-15 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. bake for 15 minutes.
8. once macaron shells are out of the oven, let them sit for 30-60 seconds before removing the hot baking sheet underneath. let the macarons cool completely before removing them from the parchment paper.

for the fruity cereal buttercream filling:

1. in a medium bowl combine the butter and sugar and mix until incorporated. then add in the crushed fruity cereal and mix until combine.
2. next, add in the milk (1 tablespoon at a time) and mix until combine and you've reached the right consistency for buttercream. if it's too thick, thin it out with a little bit with more milk. if too thin, add in a little more powdered sugar.

to assemble the macaron cookies:

1. before assembling these cookies, make sure to pair up all the cookie shells so they are as close as possible in size.
2. using a knife, spread a good amount of the buttercream on the inside of the macarons then sandwich them together. note: you can certainly put the buttercream in a piping bag and pipe the buttercream onto the cookie. it's a lot easier i think and less mess. but i can't be bother to do this so i almost always just spread it with a knife.
3. let them stand at least one day (keep them refrigerated in an airtight container) before serving (serve at room temperature), to meld the flavors.

store in airtight container for up to 5 days. makes 20-24 macarons. enjoy! :)

baked goodies perfect for a tea party!

ummm... so, i sort of hosted a mini tea party at work this week. any excuse to bake some yummy baked goods, right? i'm not big on tea or anything, but i'll take all the goodies that come with it. :)

for our initial afternoon tea party kick-off, i settled on some coffee nutella macarons as well as some lemon cream cheese macarons (thanks to all the lemons in my garden), some mini lemon cupcakes with lemon icing, multi-berries scones, jam thumbprints and what better way to top it off then your not-so-typical savory bites, spam musubi. yup, you heard that right. we didn't have cute little tea sandwiches. we opted for spam musubi instead and those were delish! spam musubi is quite a hit with my coworkers and me. we'll take it any time of day, any day of the week, just as we'll take any of the other baked goodies.

anyway, the recipes are below if you'd like to bake any for your tea party or any party or just because. yeah, when you think about it, who needs an excuse to bake? i sometimes just bake because i wanted to. okay, enjoy and happy baking! :)



multi-berries scones
recipe adapted from smells like home's blueberry scones

ingredients:

• 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, frozen whole
• 1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen berries (i used a mix of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1 egg, for egg wash

directions:

1. adjust an oven rack to middle position and preheat to 425° F. grate the frozen butter on the holes of a large box grater. if using fresh berries, place the berries in the freezer until needed. whisk together the milk and sour cream in a medium bowl; refrigerate until needed. combine the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest in a medium mixing bowl. whisk to combine. add the grated butter to the flour mixture and toss with fingers until thoroughly coated.
2. add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula just until combined. transfer the dough to a generously floured work surface. dust the top of the dough with flour, and knead with well floured hands, 6-8 times, just until the dough holds together in a ragged ball. add small amounts of flour as needed to prevent sticking.
3. roll the dough into a 12-inch square. fold the dough into thirds like a business letter (a dough scraper really helps with these steps). fold the short ends of the dough into the center in thirds, to form an approximate 4-inch square. transfer the dough to a plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in the freezer for 5 minutes.
4. return the dough to the floured work surface and roll into an approximately 12-inch square again. sprinkle the berries evenly over the surface of the dough, and gently press down so that they are slightly embedded in the dough surface. using a dough scraper, roll the dough up to form a tight log. lay the log seam side down and press the the log into a 12 by 4-inch rectangle. using a sharp, floured knife, cut the rectangle crosswise into 4 equal rectangles. cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles. transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.
5. brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash and sprinkle lightly with sugar. if freezing ahead of time, flash freeze on the baking sheet for 20 minutes, then wrap individually and store in a freezer bag until needed. bake until the tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18-25 minutes. transfer to a wire rack and let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

makes 12 scones (or however big/small you cut it)




mini eggless lemon cupcakes
recipe adapted from yum'e'licious

ingredients:

for the cupcakes

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup buttermilk (or do what i do; add 1 tbsp lemon juice to 1 cup of milk, stir, and let it sit for 5 minutes before using)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• zest of 1 medium sized lemon
• few drops of yellow color, optional

for the lemon icing drizzle

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

directions:

1. if you don't have buttermilk, this is when you mix the lemon juice and milk together and set it aside while you do everything else.
2. preheat oven to 350°F. then sift the flour, baking powder and the baking soda in a good size bowl and set that aside.
3. in another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. then add in 1/3 cup buttermilk and beat again until fluffy. repeat again with another 1/3 cup. then add the lemon zest and lemon juice and mix well. now, if you want to use some yellow food coloring, this is where i add it in.
4. now add in the dry ingredients and mix well before adding in the remaining buttermilk; mix again until incorporated.
5. fill the mini cupcake cups to 2/3 full (makes about 20-24) and bake it in the oven for 14-15 minutes. or if you'd rather do a loaf cake instead, pour the batter into a greased loaf tin (9"x5") and bake it for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. let the mini cupcakes (or loaf) cool completely before drizzling the icing over. to make the icing, just mix the powdered sugar and lemon juice together. if it's too runny, just add more powdered sugar; and if too thick, add more lemon juice.

makes about 20-24 mini cupcakes or one loaf




other goodies you can find recipes for:

• coffee nutella macarons
• brown sugar salted caramel macarons
• coral french macarons with citrust buttercream filling
• jam thumbprints
• blood orange cranberry scones
• blueberry cream scones
• traditional english scones
• cranberry scones
• white chocolate biscottis

creamy lemon squares

whooo hooo! so here's my first post of 2015. it only took me 25 days into the new year, so that's not too bad considering i haven't posted any recipes lately, or more like months with the exception of those mini pecan tarts last month.

okay, so i was inspired by miss martha stewart after watching one of her episodes of martha bakes, featuring citrus baked goodies. you see we are in the winter season and winter is known for its abundance of citrus fruits. we have a small lemon tree growing out back in our garden and it's bursting with lots and lots of lemons! i've never seen this many lemons on our tree before, it's incredible. i mean... i'm so excited because the endless possibility of anything lemon is amazing. of course, i just need to muster enough energy to bake or create delicious yummy looking and tasting things. we'll see where that takes me. but for now, yes... i've made these perfect little lemony and creamy squares. they are perfectly sweet and creamy with the condense milk, but yet at the same time the tartness in the lemons come through. it is just amazing. it's like a nice burst of goodness in your mouth.

below's the recipe should you want to make some yourself. i did a mini hybrid of two recipes in one. i couldn't be bothered to make the shortbread crust and opted for a graham cracker crust instead. i've made the shortbread a bunch of times, so the graham cracker crust with the lemon squares is a new thing. i'd say it's not too bad, just a tad crumbly when you eat it, but still delicious. i ate every little bit of it, to the last crumb even! ;)



creamy lemon squares
recipe adapted from martha stewart's lime squares recipes

ingredients:

for the crust

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for pan
• 1-1/2 cup (about 24 squares) graham-cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar

for the filling

• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (i used 3 lemons)

directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush an 8-inch square baking dish with melted butter. Line bottom with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides.
• In a food processor, finely grind the graham-cracker squares. Then add in sugar and butter and blend to mix. Press mixture into bottom and 1 inch up sides of prepared pan. Bake until lightly browned, 8 to 12 minutes. Cool crust, 30 minutes.
• To make the filling: In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and condensed milk. Add lemon juice; whisk until smooth. Pour filling into cooled crust; carefully spread to edges.
• Bake until set, about 15 minutes. Cool in pan on rack; then chill at least 1 hour before serving. Using parchment paper overhang, lift out of pan, and transfer to a cutting board. With a serrated knife, cut into 16 squares, wiping knife with a damp kitchen towel between each cut.

makes 16 squares. enjoy! :)

mini pecan tarts

it’s been a while, i know. months and months. well, i'm sort of back, at least for one post. it's the happiest most wonderful time of the year again! and i love it. and i’ve been baking like crazy (but too lazy to post them here). well... here’s one i'll share because i actually have a photo for it. this has become one of my favorite holiday treat and will for sure be a regular come this time of the year. it is so good and that's probably because i’m a pecan pie fan.

so if you're up to some baking this weekend, feel free to make these. you never know, these may become one of your favorites too, if not already! enjoy and happy baking! :)

mini pecan tarts
recipe adapted from better homes & garden

ingredients:

cream cheese pastry:

• 1/2 (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

pecan filling:

• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp corn syrup
• 1 tbsp butter, melted
• pinch of salt
• 2/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans

directions:

1. preheat oven to 325 degrees F. for pastry, in a mixing bowl beat the 1/2 cup butter and cream cheese until combined. stir in the flour. press a rounded teaspoon of pastry evenly into the bottom and up the sides of 24 ungreased 1 3/4-inch muffin cups.
2. for pecan filling, in a bowl beat egg, brown sugar, corn syrup, and the 1 tablespoon melted butter until combined. stir in pecans. spoon about 1 heaping teaspoon of filling into each pastry-lined muffin cup. bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until pastry is golden and filling is puffed. cool slightly in pan. carefully transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

makes 24 cookies.

martha stewart's outrageous chocolate cookies

i'm always a fan of a good cookie (recipe). this one here is for sure a keeper. plus, it comes from good old martha, which is a major plus. and on top of that, it's chocolate! what i love most about this recipe though is the fact that i don't need any fancy ingredients. everything you see here are items you pretty should have in stock already (assuming you are the occasional baker). or even if you don't, you can get these items easily with a quick trip to the grocery store.

these chocolate cookies are great. i love how soft and chewy they are. it's almost like eating a brownie, but in a cookie form. they make for great gifts as well. i actually made these for a girls night in event and we all loved it. well, i know i did. ;)

so if you're craving for some chocolates, or (chocolate) cookies.. why not give this a try? you won't be disappointed. :)





martha stewart's outrageous chocolate cookies
recipe from here

ingredients:

• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks

directions:

1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring between each, until almost melted; do not overheat.
3. in another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. in a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy. reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate. mix in flour mixture until just combined. stir in chocolate chunks.
5. drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets.
6. bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes. cool on baking sheets 10 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. or if you prefer (which is what i do) you can eat them after they've cooled a little bit. typically that's a few minutes out of the oven. they taste best warm, i think.

note: don't worry if the batter seems thin. it should look more like a brownie batter than a cookie dough. oh, and do not bake the cookies to a crisp; they are meant to be soft and chewy.

vanilla cupcakes

you know me. okay, maybe not really. but what i was going to say here was, i never like throwing any leftover ingredients out if it's still good and i know that i can make use of it. so as usual... you know, the typical mexican dinner night that calls for sour cream, well, there was a bunch leftover. so, what did i do with it? of course, bake with the leftovers!

what we have here is a super moist, waaaay delicious and perfectly sweetened vanilla cupcake; and nicely decorated for easter sunday (yes, this was our easter meal dessert – of course you can decorate it anyway you like for any occasion). i say you can skip the frosting if you want, because the cake out of the oven is seriously a yummy bite already. the sour cream in this recipe is superb. for sure better than your buttermilk or good ol' milk. the cake comes out perfectly baked and not dry at all. i love that the taste and texture stays true even a couple days later (yeah, sitting out on the counter... and so not in an airtight container! my bad).

this recipe is for sure a keeper in my opinion. if you’d like to see it for yourself, i say go ahead and give it a try. it's super simple to make. you can't mess up. i've made it two times in the last week and loved it every time. the only thing i wasn't too crazy about was that although the cake puffed up (rise) while baking in the oven, once you take it out and it cools, it falls back and dips just a tad. not totally crazy about that, but hey, i guess that's okay when it's so good. not too big of a deal especially if you're going to frost it. you won't be able to tell.

okay, enjoy! :)



vanilla cupcakes
recipe from here

ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin/cupcake tin with paper or foil liners.
2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add butter, sour cream, egg and egg yolks, and vanilla; beat at medium speed until smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula and mix by hand until smooth and no flour pockets remain.
3. Divide batter evenly among cups of prepared tin. Bake until cupcake tops are pale gold and toothpick or skewer inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 24 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from tin and transfer to wire rack; cool cupcakes to room temperature before frosting. For frosting ideas, you can check out these recipes.

makes 12 standard size cupcakes. enjoy and happy eating. :)

apple crumble granola

hello there! it's been a good while and i finally got around to editing some food photos from a while back. i had actually meant to post this up about a month ago but i accidentally deleted the edited photos and had to re-edit them again. anyway, here's a recipe for a breakfast granola, apple crumble granola, that is. sounds pretty awesome, eh? i think so!

i've never made granola before and so this is for sure a first. how did it turn out? ahhhh... okay, i guess. i didn't know what to expect so i can't really say a whole lot. what i can say is that it's not really sweet. or as according to m, not at all! so if you like it a little sweeter, i recommend adding more honey or possibly even sprinkling in some brown sugar (note: i have not tried this). another thing was either i totally did this wrong, mine didn't clump together the way i thought granola should. you see, i found this recipe on some random sight online and from the pictures i saw, it came out perfectly fine. so maybe i did something wrong? who knows.

well, below's the recipe should you be interested. i'm sure you'll have better luck with it than me. regardless, i still thought it tasted alright. i do love the apple and cinnamon flavor that comes through. and what better way to dress up a bowl of non-fat greek yogurt in the morning than some granolas and fresh fruits?





apple crumble granola
recipe adapted from here

ingredients:

• 300g (3-1/3 cups) oats
• 1 apple (with or without skin)
• 30g (2 tbsp) butter
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup raisins

directions:

1. preheat oven to 350°F.
2. first, pour the oats into a mixing bowl, and grate the apple over the top. or for a chewier granola, finely dice the apple instead for large chunks. stir it into the oats quickly to prevent the apple from browning as it comes into contact with the air.
3. pop the butter in a microwaveable dish and ping on a high heat for 20 seconds to melt. add the honey and cinnamon to the melted butter and stir through. pour into the oats and apple mixture, and stir well to coat lightly and evenly.
4. lightly grease a baking tray or roasting tin (i actually just used a silpat on a baking sheet), and tip the oat mixture in. roughly even out with a spoon, but don't press down as you want it to clump together in chunks, not make a flapjack! pop it into the center of the oven at 30 minutes, removing to shake gently halfway through.
5. allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. it will keep for a few weeks if stored in a cool dry place.

FOR VEGANS: replace the 30g of butter with around 40ml oil, and the honey with either sugar, golden syrup or agave nectar, whichever you prefer.

TO MAKE IT GO FURTHER: add half a handful of raisins, cranberries or other dried fruit to make it go further.

you can eat this slightly warmed up, or thrown into plain yogurt... pretty much anything. it's perfect for breakfast or as a snack anytime throughout the day.