For my first breakfast post, it seems appropriate that I've incorporated a non-breakfast ingredient: peanut butter. For those of you readers who don't like peanut butter, I apologize. I use more peanut butter in a month than anyone should, and lucky for those of you who do like it I have the recipes to prove it. I always use Jif, but if you don't you can feel free to use whatever peanut butter you're used to. I won't hold it against you. I saw these pancakes and bookmarked them instantly. The only problem is, I cannot make pancakes to save my life. I've tried countless times, but the flipping always gets me. Sure, they always taste great, but I'm not lying when I say they look awful. This little fact made trying this recipe a daunting task. Lucky for me, there was enough batter that even though I managed to completely ruin half of the pancakes, I still had enough decent ones for some pictures (and for me to eat!)
I made these on a morning when no one else was around to see what I assumed would turn out to be another pancake catastrophe. This also meant I could eat all of the good ones if there were any. Sneaky me. These turned out quite delicious. I think I would've died and gone to heaven if I had added some bananas to the batter as well. I might try that next time, and I'll update the post if I do.
Since I know the majority of people do not have some odd issue with making pancakes, I strongly suggest making these. Peanut butter+pancakes+warm syrup...need I say more?

Peanut Butter Pancakes
Recipe from The Crepes of Wrath
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons milk, plus extra if needed to thin
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, melted
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In another bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, melted peanut butter, and vegetable oil. Add a little extra milk if batter feels too thick (I added another tablespoon or two).
2. Heat your griddle over medium-low heat and melt a tablespoon of butter in it, then using a paper towel, rub the butter around the griddle to make a very thin layer (you don’t want your pancakes cooking in a pool of butter). Sprinkle some water over the pan and see what it does. It should dance around but it should NOT sizzle or spurt.
3. When the pan is ready, pour about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake (I made my pancakes a bit on the smaller side because the batter is kind of thick and I wanted them to cook through). Don’t overcrowd the pancakes because they will spread a bit as they cook. Cook for about 3 or 4 minutes per side, until golden. They won’t bubble like normal pancakes because of the thickness of the peanut butter. Makes 10-12 pancakes.

As I sit here waiting to leave for my 6:45 cycling class, for some reason there's nothing I want to do other than bake. I think it may be that cycling continuously kills me (I'm convinced it never gets easy) and baking is just about as far in the other direction as it gets. Maybe I'm just trying to make the excuse, "Well I can't leave while it's in the oven." So, to avoid all of this I figured I should catch up posting some recipes I've made over the past week. I'll start with a delicious strawberry buttermilk cake. This cake is way too easy to be as good as it is. That's not a bad thing, though. I think anyone could make it, and the whipped cream definitely takes it to a whole new level. Truth be told, I was just experimenting around with the whipped cream and don't remember the exact measurements for how I made it, but it was amazing. I think maybe I'll just make lemon-blueberry whipped cream from now on and put it on everything. YUM. When looking at that recipe, if you make it and it doesn't taste quite sweet enough (or doesn't have enough lemon or blueberry flavoring) add to it! I got the idea from Eats Well With Others, where she made blueberry buttermilk cake with strawberry whipped cream. The same strawberry buttermilk cake has been surfacing all over the food blog world recently, but the idea of fruit flavored whipped cream sounded too good to pass up. I know local strawberry season has sadly just about ended, but they're still pretty cheap at the grocery store (or Costco/Sam's Club if you want them in bulk). Enjoy this recipe, it won't last long once you make it!

Easy Strawberry Buttermilk Cake
Recipe from Food and Fun Cafe
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
** Use 1/2 cup buttermilk instead of the egg as an alternative
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup fresh strawberries (about 5 oz)

Method
Preheat oven to 400°F, placing the rack in the middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan and keep ready.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy; this should take about 3 minutes, then beat in the vanilla. Finally add the egg and beat well for another 2 minutes.

Switch the mixer setting to low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined. Remember, do NOT overbeat.

Fold in half of the strawberries into the batter. Spoon the prepared batter into the cake pan, smoothing it on the top. Scatter the remaining strawberries evenly over the top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar.

Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, roughly about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in the cake pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely. Invert it onto a serving plate.

Using a knife warmed by placing under hot running water, slice the cake into wedges and serve. You can also make it fancier by topping it with a dollop of whipped cream, or dusting with some more Confectioner's sugar.

Blueberry Whipped Cream
1 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 tablespoon powdered sugar
1/4 cup blueberries
Zest of 1/2 lemon

In a blender or food processor, puree the blueberries and lemon zest. If you desire a sharper lemon flavor, lemon juice can be added to this as well. Next, beat the cream until barely thickened. Add in the powdered sugar and beat until soft peaks form. Fold in puree and beat slightly more until whipped cream reaches desired consistency.

*Everyone makes whipped cream a different way. Some people use powdered sugar, some regular sugar, some add vanilla.. that's not really what matters here. Make the whipped cream as normal, but add the zest and blueberry mixture to the almost finished product.

We bought another giant carton of blueberries from Costco last week which instantly meant it was time to do some baking. The only problem with blueberries is that I've found so many blueberry recipes I really love that I usually just stick to those. When it comes to food blogging, the tendency to do this is bad because it means no new posts. My two favorite blueberry recipes are a blueberry pie and Dorie Greenspan's blueberry coffee cake. The coffee cake is on the blog, but I haven't made the pie since I started blogging so I promise that will make it on here in the future.  I had never tried these muffins before, but the recipe is super easy and has all of my favorite ingredients which is enough for me to give it a shot. The crumb topping honestly makes it like a muffin coffee cake. I was determined to use as much of the crumb topping on each muffin as possible, but that just ended up in a thick sugar crust that broke off really easily. Next time I think I'll try to fight the urge just a little more (or maybe do the same thing but just make sure to press the crumb into the muffin batter more). I thought these were great though.  These mainly fall in the breakfast category but depending on how much crumb topping you use, it also works as dessert. Shoot, I'd even pair one of these with ice cream they're so sweet. But, then again, I'd pair basically anything with ice cream so that's not saying much. One last note, I baked these for 20 minutes, which is the minimum time, and they were perfect. A minute more might have ruined them, so keep a close eye on them while baking so they don't get burnt.

Blueberry muffins

Recipe from Vanilla & Lace
MAKES 12
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries

For the streusal topping:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup earth balance (or butter), cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup earth balance, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking. (You may not use all the topping)
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

The recipe below for chocolate chunk cookies just got better! I decided that this cookie recipe was such a winner that I should start experimenting with it a little. There are tons of different things I thought about adding, but ended up choosing M&M's. And...wow. I honestly don't want to go back to regular chocolate chip cookies again! Make these for any occasion and any crowd. Click on the link above, or if you are at the main page check out the recipe below. I just substituted one bag of M&M's for the chocolate chunks.

I've been on the quest for a great chocolate chip cookie recipe for as long as I can remember. I know I've posted a few recipes I've tried out on here, but finally I found the best one of all. I'm not sure what makes these cookies so amazing. Maybe it's that there is more brown sugar than regular sugar (always a plus in my book) or maybe that it uses chocolate chunks versus regular chocolate chips. I can't put my finger on the exact cause, but it really doesn't matter because in the end these cookies are incredible and that's all you need to know.

I like a big cookie that is super soft in the middle and only slightly crispy on the outsides. I don't like to have any bite that's all crisp, I just want enough to have them hold their form. The first batch of these I made was regular size and I didn't have chocolate chunks so I substituted bittersweet disks and semisweet minis. The second time around I made giant ones with the chunks. They both turned out great, but I prefer the semisweet chunks.

I've written before how I think judging a recipe by the way someone else describes it is usually a pretty good bet. If someone hasn't written very much about it, I usually assume it's just decent. Maybe this is just because I am the queen of going on about how delicious something is if I really like it. Sydney at The Crepes of Wrath said, "These are my favorite chocolate chip cookies and I promise you that you’ll never find a better recipe." I already am in love with her white chocolate macadamia nut cookie recipe, so I knew these had to be good. So, if you're like me and are in an never-ending quest to find the best of each type of cookie, cake, etc., give this recipe a try. I guarantee it's a runner in the best chocolate chip cookie category.

The Best Ever Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Recipe from The Crepes of Wrath

2 cups all-purpose flour


1/2 teaspoon baking soda


1/2 teaspoon salt


3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted


1 cup packed brown sugar


1/2 cup white sugar


1 tablespoon vanilla extract


1 egg


1 egg yolk


2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks (this is crucial – you can use chips if you can’t find chunks, but chunks are what make these cookies the best ever)


1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (or 310 degrees F for convection). Grease and or line your cookie sheets.


2. Sift the flour, salt and baking soda together and set aside.


3. Mix the sugars and melted butter just until thoroughly mixed, then add egg, yolk and vanilla and mix until creamy. Add the sifted ingredients and mix until just blended – don’t over beat!


4. Stir in the chocolate chunks, then drop dough a bit less than 1/4 cup at a time on a cookie sheet, about 3 inches apart, and bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies.


5. Leave them on the cookie sheet to cool a bit when removed from the oven (this is important as they fall apart if you move them too quickly). Once they cool a few minutes, remove the cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Makes 10-12 cookies, depending on their size.

You can't go wrong with strawberries, whipped cream and puff pastry. This was one of the easiest, but most impressive looking recipes I've seen in a long time. I was crunched for time so had to skip a few steps and assemble it quickly (hence the messy whipped cream and one less layer than in the regular recipe). I figure if I put the whole thing together in five minutes and it looked like that, imagine what 10 minutes could do.
I don't quite know what is the best thing to cut it with. I think it's virtually impossible to get whipped cream to say in its place while cutting. I had a cake cutter with a serrated edge, but that didn't work very well. Regardless, everyone loved it. Taste is what matters most anyways.


The only change I made to the recipe is instead of simply whipping cream, I made real whipped cream. I wanted it a little sweeter so I went ahead and added sugar and vanilla.


Strawberry Millefeuille
Recipe from Sea Salt with Food ( adapted from Williams-Sonoma Cooking for Friends by Alison Attenborough and Jamie Kimm)


Ingredients
1 Sheet Puff Pastry (1/2 package), thawed according to package instructions and unfolded
1 Egg, lightly beaten
1 ½ Cups Thinly Sliced Strawberries
Juice of ½ Lemon
1 Tbsp Granulated Sugar
1 Cup Heavy Cream
Confectioner’s sugar for dusting 


Method
Preheat the oven to 375˚F.
On a lightly floured board, roll out the pastry sheet to ¼ inch thickness. Cut in half lengthwise. Transfer the 2 rectangles to a rimmed baking sheet. Prick them evenly all over with a fork and brush with the beaten egg. Bake until the pastry is puffed and golden, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, stir together the strawberries, lemon juice and sugar. Set aside.

In another bowl, using a whisk, whip the cream until soft peaks form.

Using a serrated knife, slice 1 rectangle horizontally to create 2 layers. Use the uncut rectangle as the base. Top with half of the whipped cream and 1/3 of the strawberries. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to create 2 more layers, finishing with just strawberries. Dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving

Serves 6

Since I feel that I have to come back with a bang, I've got many recipes I'll be posting in these next few days here. These chocolate brownie cupcakes are really good, but as the recipe says, it's crucial that you do not overbake them. They're much more brownie tasting than cupcakes and overbaked brownies are even worse in cupcake form. I made two pans of these and pulled one out a little sooner than the other and it made a big difference in taste. And lastly, as usual, I didn't add the nuts in this recipe.

Deep Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes
Recipe from La Mia Vita Dolce 
(Originally from Food and Drink)


Cupcakes

• 4 ounces (120 g) unsweetened chocolate, broken up
• 2/3 cup (150 ml) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) salt
• 1 cup (250 ml) chopped-into-bits semi-sweet chocolate or chips, about 175 g (6 ounces)
• 1 cup (250 ml) broken toasted walnuts or pecans

Icing

• 1 cup (250 ml) chopped-into-bits semi-sweet chocolate or chips, about 175 g (6 ounces)
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C)
2. Line 18 muffin cups with papers or silicone cups.  Over low heat, melt chocolate and butter together in a large saucepan, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat.  Stir in sugar, then eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla.
3. Mix flour with baking powder and salt.  Stir into chocolate mixture along with chocolate and nuts.  Divide among cups.  Bake 16 to 18 minutes or just until cupcake centre is raised and feels slightly firm when touched.  Do not over-bake.  Cool completely on rack.
4. Meanwhile, to make icing, melt chocolate in whipping cream over very low heat in a small saucepan.  When almost smooth, remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Cool to room temperature.
5. Ice cupcakes.  Icing sets at room temperature in about an hour.  Store cupcakes at room temperature, covered, for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to a month.

First off, let me start by explaining my extremely long absence from blogging. It's been over a month since my last post, but I'm back! There were a few factors that led to my break. For the most part, they were all out of my control, nonetheless it's been way too long. The first problem was that my camera was stolen over Easter break (and really, what's a food blog without pictures?). So, even though I was still baking all the time I didn't post anything. The second was a random computer crash that deleted all of my food blog bookmarks. Two years worth of bookmarked recipes all gone. Bummer. And the third was that I literally haven't even had time to breathe I've been so busy recently. But, hey, that's life.
I still don't have a camera, but I've been able to borrow one to take pictures recently. Point of everything is, I'm going to get back on my regular posting schedule and sorry for the long break!
Now to the food. It's strawberry season and with the masses of fresh strawberries appearing at the stores and farmers' markets I figured I had to start the season off right. I've seen a million and one posts with strawberry shortcakes, tarts, scones, etc. This recipe is a little different, though, and I really liked it. The vanilla bean custard in the middle of these cupcakes is so good I could eat it plain. Luckily, it also complements the angel food cake and strawberries wonderfully so I held back on that impulse. Even though box cake mix makes these cupcakes not quite so homemade, you can't deny that boxed mixes are great. It also makes the recipe pretty simple. The only negative is that these cupcakes don't last very long at all (I'd say two days maximum). After that they're still good, but the custard soaks into the cupcakes and you have to eat them with a spoon. So make these, but eat them quick! This shouldn't be a problem.

Vanilla-Stuffed Strawberry Cupcakes
Recipe from Southern Living April 2010
Makes 2 dozen, Hands on Time: 30 minutes
Cupcakes will rise over baking cup edges. Use a paring knife to gently loosen from pan.

Vanilla Bean Custard (see below)
24 paper baking cups
1 (16 oz) package angel food cake mix*
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups halved fresh strawberries

*Southern Living says they used Duncan Hines and that worked best. I used Betty Crocker and I think the cupcakes themselves could've been better so I'd try Duncan Hines.

1. Prepare Vanilla Bean Custard.
2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place baking cups in 2 (12 cup) muffin pans. Do not grease. Prepare angel food cake batter according to package directions using a paddle attachment (I'm sure a hand mixer would work fine too). Stir in vanilla extract. Spoon batter into baking cups, filling completely full.
3. Bake at 325 degrees on middle oven rack 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes.
4. Gently run a knife around edges of cupcakes to loosen. Remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely (about 20 minutes).
5. Scoop out centers of cupcakes, leaving a 1/2-inch border on the bottom and sides. Spoon or pipe vanilla bean custard into centers of cupcakes. Top with strawberries. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Garnish if desired.

Vanilla Bean Custard
Recipe from Southern Living

2 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla exract

1/ Whisk together first 4 ingredients in a heavy 3-qt saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla extract. Cover and chill for 3 hours.

Chocolate chip cookies are the only cookies I have never found a go-to recipe for. I have a favorite macadamia nut cookie, chocolate cookie, shortbread cookie, snickerdoodle and oatmeal raisin cookie, but no chocolate chip cookie. My guess is that this is because the bar is set high for chocolate chip cookies. I mean, who hasn't tried a million and one good chocolate chip cookies. I found this recipe on Jennie's Kitchen. The recipe calls for making the dough at night, refrigerating overnight and baking them the next day. I personally think this makes the whole recipe seem easy just because it breaks things up. This is her original recipe and she named them "My best chocolate chip cookies", so I thought I should give them a try.

Alas, the search is still on. These cookies were great, but they're not the cookies for me.  They were especially amazing right out of the oven, but once they cooled they were a little cakeier than I usually like. But, when I came back to my apartment after class, my roommate had already eaten three and said they were the best cookies ever, so maybe I'm wrong.  For some reason my brother put the ones I gave him in the refrigerator (not a clue why), but I actually really liked them cold too. The only other thing separating this recipe from being top notch is that they don't have any brown sugar in them. I firmly believe a little brown sugar in a cookie recipe makes them much better.
This recipe was so easy that I probably will mess around with the ingredients a bit and then make them again.

My best chocolate chip cookies
Recipe from In Jennie's Kitchen
Ingredients:
4 cups flour (18 ounces)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, softened (8 ounces)
2 cups sugar (15 ounces)
2 tablespoons molasses
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate discs

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Beat butter, sugar and molasses until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Beat until well mixed. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate discs. Let sit in refrigerator overnight before baking, and may be stored this way for up to two days.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheets with silicon mats or parchment paper. Gently form dough into 1 1/2 to 2-inch balls and place 2 to 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes on middle rack. Remove from oven and let cool on pan for 2 more minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely if you have any will power left.

These peanut butter bars are so easy that I made them two days in a row. The second time I only made them because I got bored in the 15 minutes that some cookies were baking and decided I'd make another batch. That is how easy they are.
Let me also apologize for the extreme time lapse between my last post and this one. Unfortunately, I've been studying up a storm instead of baking up a storm. I guess that's good though, right? I also realized there may be a direct correlation between the 3lbs I lost and the break from blogging. Now time to gain them back!
Last year, the dorm I lived in had a food court on the bottom level. Yes, it was dangerous to be surrounded by an all-you-can-eat buffet the whole day. They also had late night food (chicken fingers, personal pizzas, cheesesteaks, etc.) until 11 p.m. every night. Places like this are the reason people gain the freshman 15. One of my favorite things to get from there was a delicious peanut butter bar that only showed up a few times a month. These bars were so good that if you went any later than 6 p.m. you could forget any chance of grabbing some. My tactic: go at lunchtime and get a stack of them to bring up to my mini-fridge. My love of desserts really is dangerous. However, I have just now realized that these amazing peanut butter bars were really a simple mix of five ingredients. 5! And it takes only a few minutes to make.
I crushed up my own graham cracker crumbs for the recipe. I found that I really liked the crunch of the small pieces that didn't turn into full crumbs.
So, two days in a row I've made this. We'll see what tomorrow has in store.

Peanut Butter Cup Bars
Recipe from Stylish Cuisine

1/2 cup butter
1 3/4 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
(Line a 8×8, 9×9, or 7×11 pan with foil for easy removal of bars later.) I used 8x8
Melt 1/2 c. butter of low heat. Remove from heat and stir in confectioner’s sugar. Add peanut butter and graham cracker crumbs, stirring until creamy. Spread mixture into pan, patting down evenly.
In same pot, on low heat, melt butter. Add chocolate chips and stir until chips are nearly melted and very soft. Remove from heat and continue stirring until chocolate is smooth and shiny. Spread over peanut butter layer. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Cut into bars.
Store peanut butter cup bars in refrigerator.
Yield:  16 or more bars (depending upon how big you cut them)