First, I want to apologize for the one, not-so-great picture here. I was in a rush and just took the picture quickly before taking the whole batch to the beach. Little did I know, this cornbread would be unbelievably good. Corn bread this good deserves amazing pictures, but unfortunately my point and shoot camera doesn't quite do it justice (especially under rushed conditions).

I rarely like corn bread. I think regular bread is far superior and almost always choose that out of a bread assortment at a restaurant. Corn bread is dry, too grainy and falls apart into a million pieces when you try to take a bite. (Guess that's why people always eat it over a bowl of chili.)

Well, maybe all the other cornbread is. This corn bread is so moist it's almost like a cake.  It's got the slight grainy texture that comes from corn meal, but in this case it's just the right texture. I used corn meal from a mill in North Carolina so I actually ended up triple sifting it to make sure all the fresh corn pieces were out (the recipe requires double sifting). Other than the sifting, the whole recipe is a breeze.  The best part about this bread is the honey butter glaze. Each bite melts in your mouth. It almost seems too good to accompany just a plain ol' meal (hence why I grabbed little pieces throughout the day). Once again, Sherry Yard's book is proving to be fantastic. Your family, friends, etc. will love you for making this.

Honey-Glazed Spago Corn Bread
Recipe from Sherry Yard's Desserts By The Yard
Ingredients
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cake flour
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
3 ounces (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
1/2 cup buttermilk

For the glaze:
3 ounces (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup water

1. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-x-13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil and spray the foil with pan spray.
2. Sift together the cornmeal, all purpose flour, cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt 2 times. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs. Melt the butter and immediately whisk into the eggs in a slow stream. Whisk in the oil, milk, and buttermilk. Whisk in the dry ingredients just until combined.
4. Scrape the batter into the pan and bake for 30 minutes. Rotate the pan from front to back and continue to bake for 10 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
5. Make the glaze:  while the corn bread is baking, melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the honey and water and whisk until blended.
6. When the cornbread is done, remove from the oven and poke holes all over the bread, about 1/2-inch apart, with a toothpick. Brush with the glaze and allow to cool.

I don't really have the right words to describe these cupcakes. It comes as no surprise that these are some of the best cupcakes I've ever tasted. Just look at how they are made: a chocolate chip cupcake stuffed with cookie dough, mini chocolate chips, cookie frosting and to top it all off, another cookie on top. How could you go wrong with that combination?

Well, being the cookie monster that I am (and having friends that are extremely similar) I decided to take this to the next level and make the cupcakes cookie monster cupcakes. It just seemed fitting for this recipe. I brought them to my friend's 20th birthday and they were a hit. After the first bite the birthday girl took she said, "Oh god, I think I'm going to end up having five more of these before the end of the night." Along with being one of the most delicious things I've ever made, they are also one of my favorite things because they were so cute! Tell me you can look at them without smiling...

That's what I thought.

You know those times when you want to make something better than all of the other recipes? A time when brownies just won't suffice because you really want to impress people. Well, this is when these cupcakes come in. These will blow people out of the water. I decorated them two different ways since cookie monster cupcakes obviously don't work for every crowd.  I liked both of the finished products, so take your pick! You'll be happy.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
Recipe from Annies Eats
Yield:24 cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (semisweet or bittersweet)
For the filling:
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tbsp. light brown sugar, packed
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
7 oz. sweetened condensed milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
For the frosting:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
3½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. salt
3 tbsp. milk
2½ tsp. vanilla extract
For decoration:
Tiny chocolate chip cookies
Mini chocolate chips

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners (24 total).  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and brown sugar.  Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.  Stir together to blend.  Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl on low speed, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing each addition just until incorporated.  Blend in the vanilla.  Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners.   Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the cookie dough filling, combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, about an hour.
To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake.  Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture.
To make the frosting, beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy.  Mix in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth.  Beat in the flour and salt.  Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.
Frost the filled cupcakes as desired, sprinkling with mini chocolate chips and topping with mini chocolate chip cookies for decoration.


*For the cookie monster version:
White Chocolate Melting Disks
Semisweet Chocolate Chips
Chocolate Chip Crumbles

Dye frosting blue. Pick a frosting tip and use it to create a textured (fur-like) look on the cupcakes. Place semi-sweet chocolate chips, one-by-one, over an open flame for less than a second. Place on the flat side of a white chocolate disk. Repeat, placing two eyes on each cupcake. For the mouth, crumble up chocolate chip cookies and place in an organized fashion below the eyes. I think this looks better than using a half cookie for a normal mouth (after all, when was the cookie monster ever neat!).

I decided I would put this in a separate post because I didn't want to bog down the banana split post. There's enough going on in those pictures alone to make someone a little woozy, might as well spread out the recipes. This chocolate ice cream is the third flavor I've tried out with my ice cream maker. I'm not going to lie, watching what goes into this ice cream is enough to make you swear off all cream based foods forever. Eight egg yolks, really!? Yes. And you know what? Those eight egg yolks contribute to a deliciously rich and creamy ice cream. Ice cream-1, Sarah-0.

I have a lot of chocolate ice cream recipes I've bookmarked that I'll hopefully be trying in the upcoming weeks. This one was excellent and really easy, but I don't think I'll be able to resist adding extra ingredients next time. I'll admit, I even added a little cinnamon and espresso powder to this. Next time, I'm thinking cookie/brownie bites and fudge. Mmmm. Enjoy.


Chocolate Ice Cream
Recipe from The Other Side of 50 (adapted from Alton Brown)

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Dutch process)
3 cups half & half
1 cup heavy cream
8 large egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
2 tsp vanilla

Place the cocoa powder along with 1 cup of the half-and-half into a medium saucepan over medium heat and whisk to combine. Add the remaining half-and-half and the heavy cream. Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and remove from the heat.

In mixing bowl beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually beat in the sugar, occasionally scraping down the beaters and sides of mixing bowl. Temper the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar by gradually adding small amounts, until about 1/3 of the cream mixture has been added. Pour in the remainder and return the entire mixture to the saucepan and place over low heat. Add in the pinch of salt and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon and reaches 170 to 175 degrees. Pour the mixture through a mesh strainer and into a container and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract.

Cover container and refrigerate for 4-8 hours. (I refrigerated mine overnight.)

Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. This should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes. Serve as is for soft serve or freeze for another 3 to 4 hours to allow the ice cream to harden.

I think it's safe to say that the banana split is the mother of all ice cream sundaes. As if I wasn't crazy enough about bananas, peanut butter and chocolate, I have now put them into one monstrous ice cream sundae. I love that Foodbuzz is doing a banana split challenge in the first place, but even better, they are donating money to charity for each post submitted. Uh, hello? Doing what we all do anyways and having it go to something other than our waistline, count me in.

"Foodbuzz will also donate* $50 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund for every Banana Split post by a Featured Publisher created & uploaded to Foodbuzz before 12PM PST on Friday, July 16th."

For all of you featured publishers who have not yet entered, now is your chance! 

So, how do you do a banana split? There's the question. Everyone likes a little something different. For example, Paula Deen has pineapple juice in a number of her banana split recipes (eck.). It's also supposed to have a perfectly red marachino cherry on top and whipped cream. But aside from banana/chocolate and strawberry/chocolate, I don't do fruit and cream mixtures. I didn't end up adding whipped cream, though I am sure it would've been great. I honestly just didn't have room for it. I decided for this banana split I would pile on as many of my favorite things as possible, and even try a few new things while doing it.

So here it is, my banana split sundae deconstructed.

It starts out with one and a half bananas. The first I sliced lengthwise and placed it in the dish, wrapping it around the edges. In the middle of the bananas I put three large scoops of homemade chocolate ice cream (which I'll get to in a little bit). Next, I melted peanut butter with a half tablespoon or so of butter and drizzled it over the top. I know, peanut butter is fattening enough as is, and now I'm adding butter? Hush. Banana splits are not a sundae to think about nutrition with. Actually, no sundae is a sundae to think about nutrition with. Moving right along, I added two arlettes to each side of the sundae. I found the arlette's recipe in Sherry Yard's Dessert's by the Yard (amazing book for those of you who haven't read it) and decided these crispy little cookies would be perfect. They taste exactly like palmiers (or elephant ears as I always called them). For the final touches I sliced up the half of banana and put three slices on top. The remainder can be placed into any spot looking a little bare, and finally, I sprinkled mini semi-sweet chocolate chips on top.

The result: heaven.

I encourage everyone to play around with your food and make the banana split of your dreams. I don't really think anything is off limits as far as banana splits go. Throw on whatever. And, most importantly, take the guilt factor out of your brain for one day and eat up!

Arlettes

Recipe from Desserts by the Yard

1 8x6 or 8x8-inch sheet all-butter puff pastry. 1/8-inch thick, chilled

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup confectioners sugar

1. Place the sheet of puff pastry on a work surface and brush with the beaten egg white. Dist evenly with granulated sugar. Roll up the dough lengthwise (starting with the 6-inch side if working with a rectangle) very tightly, like a jelly roll, and place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, until firm or overnight. 

2. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees, Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the rolled-up puff pastry and cut into very thin slices, about 1/8-inch thick. Place the slices on the baking sheet and return to the freezer. Chill for 15 minutes.

3. Place the confectioners sugar in a bowl and use some of it to dist your work surface. Dip a pastry disk into the confectioners' sugar and roll out into an oval shape, pressing down firmly with your rolling pin. Flip the disk and roll out again to a paper-thin 4-inch-long oval. Place on he parchment-lined baking sheet, and when the tray is filled, place a second piece of parchment over the arlettes.

4. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 12 minutes, or until the cookies begin to look golden. Remove the pan from the oven, lift off the top parchment and discard, and using a metal spatula, flip over each arlette. Rotate the pan from front to back, return to the oven, and bake for another 6 minutes, or until the arlettes are a deep golden color. Remove from the oven and slip the parchment off the baking sheets onto a rack to cool the cookies. (These arlettes can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.)

See chocolate ice cream recipe here

What's not to love about an Oreo cookie? I mean, really, it's one of the most classic and delicious cookies there is.  I actually really like all of the interesting flavors they have come out with now (especially "uh-oh" aka Golden Oreos), but plain chocolate with white frosting is still my favorite. I won't complain if that comes in the double-stuffed variety, though.
I thought the write-up of this recipe on Sugar Cooking really said it all. Not only did she say this was one of the few recipes she ever repeats, she also said she gets requests for these all the time (even one from the nutritionist at her husband's gym!). So, of course I had to try them out.

The best thing about these, other than the fact that they are AMAZING, is how easy they are.  Simple ingredients. Simple steps. Big results.
Sorry if that last part reminded you of Papa Johns/some odd weight loss shake, but it's really just the best way to describe these. My one piece of advice is that I didn't believe the recipe when it said to make teaspoon sized balls of dough so mine ended up being giant (not necessarily a bad thing), but I definitely will follow the size directions next time. I can't decide when these cookies were the best. They were amazing right after they cooled down and I put the icing in them, but the next day they got a little less chewy and a little more Oreo-like which was great as well. You all must try this recipe! Apparently it's already been around the blogosphere many times and I'm a little late, but if you haven't tried it yet, now is the time.

Homemade Oreo Cookies
Recipe from Sugar Cooking (adapted from the original recipe on Smitten Kitchen)

For the chocolate wafers:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa*
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar**
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
• 1 large egg

For the filling:

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.
2. In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.
3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.
4. To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
5. To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.

 

I always feel a bit iffy about pound cakes. I find that more often than not they are too dense and dry for me which means they need a hefty serving of whipped cream or ice cream to get rid of that issue. Not that a little lot of whipped cream or ice cream is a bad thing, but I'm not really an ice cream and cake person. I know, I know, it's weird (especially considering how much I like the ice cream and cake song). I like them both individually so much that I just find together one messes with the other. Alas, I made blueberry pie ice cream and I decided to pair the ice cream with this pound cake.
Little did I know this was a disaster in the making. Turns out, I don't always take care of things as well as I should. Typical of a 20-year-old, right? Well,  on the way back home from college I guess I decided my tube pan doubled as storage space, so in went whatever various trinkets I had around my apartment. Until I put this pound cake in the oven I still thought this was a brilliant use of space.

It didn't take long before the burning smell started wafting through the house and I realized the pan's bottom had been bent significantly in the moving process. Whoops. Pound cake batter was everywhere. Another problem was that this is a cold oven pound cake so not only did I have to clean up all of this mess, I had to get the oven back cold before attempting again. On top of everything we only had one tube pan, so a Target trip had to be made. On the bright side, I wasn't making dessert last minute for once in my life and I had just enough time to repeat the pound cake process all over again. What a disaster.
In the end, this pound cake was even better than my great grandmother's recipe. It must be because it was passed along from another grandmother so it's got that loving touch that no one but a third or fourth generation seems to be able to master. Needless to say, it was worth the trouble. I think I'll try to bypass all the troubles next time anyways.

Cold Oven Pound Cake

Recipe from Bakespace: sunniebgi

• Ingredients

3 sticks (1.5 cups) butter
3 cups sugar
6 eggs (Cold)
3 cups sifted cake flour
1 cup whole milk (VERY Cold)
1 teaspoon vanila extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

*eggs and milk should be cold right out of the refrigerator (not room temperature)

Directions
Prepare large tube pan by either spraying with bakers spray (and wiping gently with a paper towel to remove excess) or greasing with soft butter & dusting with flour.

Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar together.

Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Beat in flour, one cup at a time, alternating with milk.

Add vanilla extract and almond extract.

Beat on medium-high to high speed of hand mixer for two minutes, scrapping down sides of bowl.

Carefully pour batter evenly into tube pan – use all that is in the bowl (a rubber spatula will help).

Place on middle rack in COLD oven and bake at 275F. for 2 hours.

Check it towards the end in case your oven cooks fast or slow.

Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a cake rack on the counter for about four minutes.

Run a dinner knife around the middle and edges.

Turn cake out onto dinner plate and then upright onto a cake plate.

Let the cake cool before cutting – best to use a serrated knife, at least while cake is somewhat warm.

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I posted a peanut butter and banana cupcake recipe in January, and since then my love for the combination of ingredients has only grown. I have a peanut butter and banana sandwich multiple times per week and the days I don't have one it's only because I don't have bananas. I've long since blocked out of my mind peanut butter's nutritional information. On the bright side, I incorporate a healthy food into the sandwich so I'm getting my serving of fruit there. See how good I am at justifying things? I went back and read my review of the cupcakes I made and it seemed that I thought they were great. But, I'm going to have to try them out again because as of now there's a new favorite in town.

I loved this recipe.

In general, I go crazy for things with cream cheese, bananas or peanut butter. All together? Yes please. There were two icing choices on Sugar Cooking, so if you're not feeling the peanut butter cream cheese icing you can hop on over there to check out the other cream cheese recipe. For the tops of these, I also wanted to try caramelizing the tops of bananas slices. I saw this on a blog a while back, but unfortunately don't remember where now. Good and bad news about the caramelization process-- the caramelized bananas were delicious, but my torch ran out of fuel after a mediocre attempt at one slice. So, let me reword, the caramelized banana slice was delicious! I put all of the left over sugar coated slices on the tops anyways since otherwise I know for sure I would've been sitting in front of the plate eating them one by one.  These bars are like little squares (depending on how you cut them) of heaven. Imagine taking a really light and moist banana bread and covering it with peanut butter and cream cheese. Things this good should never get into my hands.
So set those bananas out to ripen right now! You'll be glad you did.


Frosted Banana Bars
Recipe from Sugar Cooking
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cups white sugar
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar (increase to 1/2 cup if you like it sweeter)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2-3 bananas)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan (or 9x13, or two 8x8's).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter. Finally, mix in the mashed banana. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow bars to cool completely before frosting.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting (Enough for an 8 x 8 pan, double for 9 x 13
Recipe from Sugar Cooking

• 5 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 stick (2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 - 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, preferably a commercial brand (because oil doesn’t separate out)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes
2. Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.

Caramelized Banana Slices
Ingredients
Ripe bananas (each banana makes 10 or so slices)
1/4 cup sugar

Pour sugar onto surface. Slice bananas in 1/4 inch pieces. One at a time, take each piece and set one side in sugar before setting banana back onto heat-proof surface. With butane torch, caramelize tops of bananas until golden brown. Serve over ice cream, cake, pudding, etc.

I'm sure no one is shocked that I've got another blueberry recipe to put up here. This time it's ice cream. There are so many delicious ice cream flavors out there. What's best about making it is that you can take all of your favorite things and throw them into plain ice cream and it is taken to an entirely different level. If you've seen me in any ice cream shop you know this, but I am like a kid in a candy shop (I'm like a kid in a candy shop in a candy shop as well, but that's beside the point). I love trying out new flavors and getting multiple samples. I've been told I'm probably a scooper's worst nightmare with all of the conversation I try to initiate about ice cream in general, ice cream flavors, sampling, etc. It's one of those times when my enthusiasm for food isn't a good thing.

Back to the point, this recipe is what drove me to buy my new ice cream maker. I love graham crackers and I love blueberries...and who wouldn't love blueberry pie...so this recipe just screamed delicious. It was great except for a few minor things which I think could be adjusted. First, when the blueberry sauce froze it became a little too icy for my liking. The flavor was nice, but the blueberry didn't come across well when up against the creamy ice cream base. The second thing was the blueberries that did not cook down in the sauce froze and were also icy bites that weren't great texture-wise. My mom actually liked them, so maybe this wasn't as big of a problem as I thought. The best part of the ice cream was the graham cracker crumbs in the vanilla.

All-in-all, I really liked this ice cream. I paired it with pound cake which was a good combo. It could very well have been my fault that not everything turned out perfectly. After all, I am new to this whole ice cream making thing.  We had lots of family in town this weekend so I made two batches to make sure I had enough. The second batch was better than the first, so, third time's the charm, I think I'll just have to try it again.


Blueberry Pie Ice Cream
Recipe from Grin and Bake it


Ice Cream:

1 cup whole milk
¼ cup plus ¼ cup sugar
½ tsp. lemon zest
Pinch of salt
2 large egg yolks
1 cup whipping cream
¾ tsp. vanilla.
Dash of cinnamon
Graham crackers, chopped into small pieces (about ¾ cup)

Blueberry Filling:
2 – 2 ½  cups blueberries, cleaned
¼  cup powdered sugar
¼ water

To make the ice cream combine the milk, ¼ cup sugar, lemon zest and salt in a medium saucepan. Scald the milk mixture over medium-high heat, stirring often, about 5 minutes*.
While milk is scalding, whisk egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl. Add the remaining ¼ cup sugar and whisk until light and fluffy. Whisking constantly, add a small amount of the hot milk into the egg mixture. Gradually whisk in the remaining hot milk.

Return the custard mixture into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring often. The custard needs to get thick enough to cover the back of a spoon (approx. 5 minutes). Remove pan from heat and place into a glass bowl of ice. Let the custard cool, stirring often for five minutes
While the custard is cooling, combine the cream and vanilla in a separate bowl. Stir into the custard mixture. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap directly onto the surface of the custard. Refrigerate until completely chilled (minimum 4 hours, overnight works too). The custard can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To make the blueberry sauce, combine blueberries, powdered sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, stirring occasionally. mixture should begin to thicken between 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Ues right away or refrigerate.

Freeze the chilled custard in your ice cream maker, according to the manufacturer’s directions. Add the graham cracker pieces during the last minute of churning, until just mixed. Transfer to an airtight container by layering, the vanilla ice cream and the blueberry sauce. Scoop a layer of ice cream into the bottom of the container. Use a spatula to spread out evenly. Add a scoop of blueberry sauce on top and spread evenly. Add spoonfuls of vanilla on top and spread. It’s a little tricky to spread the vanilla on top of the sauce mixture. Clean fingers worked best for me. Freeze for a few hours to firm it up before you serve it.

Being that I am a chocoholic like no other, I have tried a ton of brownie recipes. In my opinion, there are few things better than a warm brownie right out of the oven. I've written before how I love Ghirardelli brownies, so it makes it hard to want to spend extra time on homemade when they aren't going to taste as good as boxed. Well, the Baked brownies are the best brownies I have ever had. Move over Ghirardelli.
I've read rave reviews but also those that say the brownies aren't all they are cracked up to be.  Sorry, but if you didn't like these you're crazy! Even fully cooked, when you take a bite the brownie melts in your mouth and almost returns to batter form. They also don't fall apart when cutting. I can't figure out how the Baked people managed this combo, but I'm perfectly ok with it. I'm getting hungry just thinking about them. These take a little more work than a lot of other brownie recipes, but I swear it is worth it. Enjoy!


The Baked Brownie
Recipe from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking


1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp dark unsweetened cocoa powder
11 oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tsp instant espresso powder
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract


- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Butter the sides and bottom of a 9x13 Pyrex baking pan
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and cocoa
- Put the chocolate, butter, and instant espresso powder in a large bowl and set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally utnil the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth
- Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan. Allow mixture to come to room temperature
- Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and mix until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined.
- Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or brownies will be cakey.
- Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture and using a spatula (not a whisk), fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible.
- Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top
- Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through, until toothpick inserted comes out clean
- Let the brownies cool completely, then cut them into squares

I am an absolute ice cream fanatic. When I was younger and unknowingly had the metabolism of sprinter (although I most definitely was not one), I used to eat a pint without thinking twice. This was especially easy because the summer after 10th grade I worked at Ben and Jerry's and was determined to get the most out of my 50% discount. I worked there with another friend of mine and we would try to see how many flavors we could pack into one pint. I thought before working there that it would be the perfect job for me--ice cream all day, tie dye tee shirts, coming home smelling like waffle cones..that's my kind of life. Turns out, the job was actually really hard. I even developed minor carpal tunnel in my wrist from the combination of scooping ice cream and playing tennis all the time. That's something that would only happen to me. Ah, the struggles of working at an ice cream shop! After that summer, we both stopped working there but I continue to love ice cream and love Ben and Jerry's. People always said I would get burnt out after consuming so much every day...pshhh. I still firmly believe that a milkshake a week keeps me sane.

So, a few weeks ago when I decided to buy the KitchenAid ice cream attachment you can only imagine how excited I was. And....
Wow.
There is no telling how much ice cream I will consume now that I have this thing. It is AMAZING! I have never quite been able to decide my favorite flavor of ice cream, but there's this great ice cream place called Kilwins that has a delicious cinnamon crumble. Thinking about this flavor I decided that for my first try at ice cream making I would make a rich cinnamon ice cream. Oh if only I could consume a guilt-free pint of this stuff. This is a must-try recipe if you have an ice cream maker.  Yum. Many more ice cream recipes ahead! I'm hooked.

Cinnamon Ice Cream
Recipe adapted from Susi's Kochen (which was originally adapted from The Perfect Scoop)

Ingredients:

Ice Cream:
1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream
1/3 cup (70 g) packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
5 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
To make the ice cream, warm the milk, granulated sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk the cream, brown sugar, and cinnamon together into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as your stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Mix in the vanilla and stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.