Everyone has their own opinions on where is the best place to get a great cupcake here in LA. Some people say Sprinkles, others say Magnolia, maybe Susie Cakes, I could keep listing them but you won’t believe where I’ve found a great cupcake. Recently, I caved when I walked past the dessert section of Trader Joe’s and snuck a 4 pack of these Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with a Peanut Butter Filling into the cart. Normally, I do not participate in store bought cookies, cakes, or any dessert for that matter. I know that I will generally still uphold this rule, but I now have a MAJOR exception for these cupcakes.

Trader Joe’s made the best cupcake that I have had in months. I KNOW. It’s absolutely absurd. Totally insane. You’re probably asking yourself how many drinks I had before tasting this cupcake, but no alcohol was involved.

The problem with so many cupcake shops is that the cake is boring and the frosting is overly sweet to try and balance it out.

These cupcakes are the perfect balance of a great cake and instead of a sugary frosting, it has a dark chocolate ganache instead which is so rich and delicious. Oh, and don’t forget this peanut butter filling which is basically slightly sweetened peanut butter, A.K.A Heaven.

Like the rest of the desserts I see in stores, I said to myself “I have to remake this”, and oh did I.

There are no more words. This is THE cupcake.

I know…

Alright. I’ve been holding out on you. By you, I am referring to the 5 people that have forgotten that they are still subscribed to this blog. I know, I’m an awful food blogger. Honestly, I have no idea how Annie from Annie’s Eats manages to have a career, two kids, a seemingly perfect marriage AND a ridiculously adorable and scrumptious food blog.

And then there is me. Yeah, sure I have two jobs and I’m in school full time but for some reason I keep putting this thing I truly do love doing on the back burner.

So the quarter has ended for me today, which means no more excuses, for the next two weeks.

I made this beautiful, oreo filled, creamy Cookies and Creams Ice Cream. If you’ve been around since the beginning, you know how weirdly obsessed I am with Oreo’s. They’re processed cookies?! Why do I love them so much!? I don’t even know, just don’t come between us.

Super easy. Damn delicious. Regardless of my toxic addiction, this ice cream is one to add to the books.

Tip: When mixing in the chopped/smashed Oreo’s, add them in after you transfer the ice cream into your container. This way prevents this awful scratching noise of the cookies in your ice cream maker.

Tip 2: Put the finished ice cream in the freezer for about two hours to let it set up a bit. When it comes straight out of the ice cream machine it is too soft to form a scoop. So unless you like your ice cream soupy, freeze it up.

Since this past week in LA has been beautifully warm, you should get on this recipe ASAP. You won’t be disappointed, I assure you.

I love you. Enjoy.

Every one loves chocolate chip cookies. It’s a fact.

For many years I was like the majority of the world and only knew chocolate chip cookies according to Nestle Tollhouse’s recipe. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I crave that flash back to my childhood, but they’re really just not the best cookie out there.

When you turn to the internet, or if you’re cool to your cookbooks, you’ll find a thousand different variations on the same cookie. Honestly, it’s a little overwhelming.

Last year I found my favorite chocolate chip cookies which is different from that classic childhood cookie. These are rich with flavor, melty chocolate chunks inside, and fleur de sel on top. The luxury chocolate chip cookie. But these guys take some time to make, and sometimes you just need cookies – now.

So I tested out a soft and chewy classic chocolate chip recipe brought to you by none other than Martha herself. These cookies took 15 minutes, at the most, to whip together, and then another 9 in the oven.

Twenty-four minutes to homemade chocolate chip cookies. Why would you ever by the store bought stuff?

I know it’s crazy, but I got this awesome paddle attachment at Christmas from the man but I this is the first time using it. It’s fantastic! No more scrapping down the sides of the bowl every 30 seconds. What a nice little perk.

Delicious.

Fresh out of the oven…

It’s good to be back in the baking game.

Oh hi there. I’m alive and well! I truly hope you are too, and that you haven’t forgotten about this silly little blog. School and work have been consuming the bulk of my time, but when I do have a tiny little break, I have managed to bake a few things here and there.

Since I’m not able to bake as much as I use to, which really is starting to take a toll on my sanity, I unfortunately can’t share with you anything new today…but I can share with some photos of a delicious little place I went to for lunch today with the man.

Today we hit up The Sycamore Kitchen over on La Brea, between Beverly and 3rd.

I’m going to have to go back for that Salted Caramel Pecan Roll..oh my.

Roasted turkey, cherry mostarda, camembert, arugula, mayo, country bread
&
Heirloom tomato salad, sherry vinaigrette, burrata
&
House made potato chips

Chocolate Chip Rye Cookie…the chocolate just oozed everywhere. It was glorious.

If you are ever in the area, I suggest checking this place out, if not to only grab a cappuccino (which is muy bueno by the way) and a little sweet treat. They are only open for breakfast and lunch, but they serve lunch until 5PM!

Until next time,

Madeline

In my mind, it is still July. So it came as a huge surprise the other day when there was a whole section in the grocery store dedicated to Halloween candy. I tried to resist, I really did… but I was sucked in and ended up buying a bunch of peanut butter cups.

As I unwrapped 16 individually wrapped peanut butter cups, my inner environmentalist was crying a little bit. So. Much. Trash!  I try to justify all of that waste by the fact that I buy my flour and sugars in bulk…and that these cookies are pretty delicious.

Peanut butter cookies are already pretty addictive on their own, but adding in the peanut butter cups adds a new texture and makes this a total game changer.

I packed some of these up in a little zip lock bag and headed off to the first UCLA home game of the season against Nebraska! After being raised a Trojan fan all my life, that was my first day where I rooted for UCLA, intentionally. Sorry Dad!

Sidenote: I’m all moved into my new place and bought some butter and eggs, stay tuned for some interesting posts on baking in a tiny kitchen

Love,

M

I’m a baker. I’m good with an oven and combinations of sugar, flour and butter.

You may not remember, but the purpose of this blog was to challenge myself in trying new recipes more regularly. So far, I think I’ve done a pretty amazing job at that. I’ve made countless different types of cupcakes and cookies. I’ve made things I didn’t understand what all the fuss was about, Chocolate Espresso French Macaroons, ah hem. Along the way I have found recipes that I have loved and hated, but I generally always had a finished product that resembled what the recipe described – until I tried to make candy.

I attempted making caramels around the same time last year and it would never turn out as it should.  I would be left with a puddle of delicious caramel sauce, which was still eaten of course, but it was not the form of sugar that I was looking for.

I ended up going with it and making caramel sauce as little presents for some relatives back in Minnesota and some lucky friends, but in the back of my head I couldn’t help but feel a little defeated by this silly caramel recipe! I mean really, it’s just boiling sugar and water, what could I possibly be doing so wrong?

After giving myself a good six month break from the candy making idea, I revisited the stove with a brand new candy thermometer, a new recipe, and a positive attitude.

So I am here happily reporting my success in making caramels, in little chewy candyform.

Step 2: Boil sugar mixture. Don’t stir with any utensils! Just let it do it’s thing! Step 3: Carefully pour cream into sugar and stir. It will bubble up like crazy, don’t worry!

Step 4: Let it boil until the mixture comes to the soft ball stage, or about 247 degrees F.

Step 5: Immediately pour into prepared pan and let it set! After about 2 hours of setting, you’ll be able to cut the caramels up into squares and then wrap them up in wax paper.

In the end, this really was not all that difficult to make. I think it may have been an issue with my candy thermometer, or maybe I just wasn’t “ready” for candy making. Whatever the reason was, I’m confident in that you will be able to make this recipe just as easily as I did.

Enjoy!

Sometimes I am genuinely worried that I have a sugar addiction. I think that is a thing, right? But if it is a thing, I really just don’t want to know.

I try and not let myself think about this for too long of a period of time because then I start thinking crazy things like “hey, maybe you should start making sauteed vegetables as a late night snack instead of 8 oreos”…..sigh…

During an average day, I must consume a ridiculous amount of sugar because when I eat healthy for a day I get these crazy sugar cravings. And when I say crazy…I’m talking wait until everyone is sleeping and take 6 cupcakes into my room, close the door and devour.

But that’s normal!

And if you’re normal addicted to sugar like me, then you’ll enjoy these little pretzel bites. They’re the perfect grab-and-run-away salty sugar fix.

Oh, and better yet, you don’t have to turn the oven on! I don’t know about you guys, but it’s been 95+ degrees for the past 2 weeks, hitting up to 106 a few days. So the thought of turning the oven on has been a little horrifying.

I’m just going to say it. I’m usually not a fan of scones. I think that there are a million better options for breakfast or a snack with your mid-day coffee than a scone. Blueberry Muffin – yes. Coffee cake – yes. Little Madeline Cookies – yes. Chocolate croissant – yes x10.

So it was a huge surprise to me this past week when I woke up one morning and was craving a scone. I thought that I was going a little crazy, to be honest. So I looked through my cookbooks to find something to bake for a breakfast/coffee snack to try and fulfill this strange desire for scones.

I ended up flagging a few pages including coffee cake, muffins, pancakes and the like, but I kept coming back to this chocolate chip scone recipe. There wasn’t even a picture in the book for it but I just had to make it, and if you know me at all…cookbooks with missing pictures is a big no-no.

As I was mixing together all of the ingredients, I was mentally preparing myself to not be satisfied by what I was making. I kept thinking hey, you don’t like scones – you’re probably not going to like these. But hey – my oven was working (it’s been on and off not working for the past few weeks – torture) so I knew I needed to take advantage of this opportunity to bake.

I decided to make mine a little bigger and cut it into 8 pieces, instead of 12.

But the stars must be aligned in favor of scones this month because these were goooood. So good that I am now kind of inspired to start making more scones…

What usually what bugged me about scones, aside from them just not being very alluring to begin with, is that they are generally dry and crumbly. These came out nothing like the scones that I have been eating (or not eating for that matter) at coffee shops. The best part is that these literally taste exactly like chocolate chip pancakes without the fork, knife, and messy syrup. (Now that I just wrote that, why on earth did I not put syrup on these guys! Guess I really do have to make them again)

I’m not saying that I’m going to go to Starbucks and order a scone any time soon, but I might consider baking my own and bringing it with to get coffee with friends. Now that, is a great idea.

Enjoy!

The past few months I have been on a serious breakfast food kick. Cereal and toast just are not cutting it for me anymore. When I wake up, all I think about is bacon, eggs, waffles, and of course, blueberry muffins…well honestly I’m mostly thinking about bacon – but aren’t we all?

As much as I love my carbs covered in sugary warm syrup, there is something so comforting about a warm blueberry muffin right out of the oven. Not to say that blueberry muffins are healthy by any means, but you get what I’m saying. I’ve made my fair share of blueberry muffins over the past few years and each recipe is a little different than the last, but I think I’ve finally found my favorite one.

The best part about this recipe is that it requires minimal effort! Confession – I’m a little zombie like in the morning. I don’t want to speak, I just want my espresso and a delicious breakfast pastry and until that happens I just don’t want to tell you how I slept or what my plans are for the day. I love you, I’m sorry, just give me a muffin. So when I can wake up and just whip up some muffins quickly in silence, there just are no words for that. No words at all.

If you have not tried baking/cooking with brown butter yet, you just really don’t know what you are missing. Honestly, it may sound weird and unnecessary but I assure you it is life changing and completely necessary. Something as simple as a blueberry muffin can be totally transformed into utter greatness by essentially cooking butter until the milk solids start to get toasted or burned a little bit. Normally burning in the kitchen is a huge no-no but I give you permission to burn two things in the kitchen – marshmallows and butter for browned butter purposes.

In this recipe the browned butter adds just another layer of flavor in what is already a great muffin to begin with. Add in some fresh blueberries and a streusel topping and you’ll be struggling to eat cereal from a box for breakfast too.

While the majority of you were off celebrating your fathers last weekend, I was having a birthday! [woohoo] Every few years my birthday and Father’s Day overlap and cause funny little arguments within my family. Silly little competitions such as where we are going for dinner and if it should be called Father’s Day dinner or Madeline’s Birthday dinner. This year, I kind of won and got to choose the place and the title, but I won’t go rubbing it in anyone’s face.

I like to say that my dad wouldn’t be celebrating Father’s day without my birthday, which would be true…if I wasn’t the youngest of three kids.

Remember when Kinects were cool? It was clearly a while ago since my autocorrect is telling me that i’m spelling “kilt” wrong. Also, why am I wearing the same shorts as my brother and a collared shirt? I look like a boy, good job little Madeline.

Every time I thought about my birthday this year, I kept thinking about what kind of cake I wanted. When I was a kid, all I wanted was Baskin Robbins ice cream cake. A mint chocolate chip ice cream cake. Or better yet, Dairy Queen! They had this ice cream cake that had little chocolate cookie crumbs sandwiched in between a layer of chocolate and vanilla ice cream. Sadly, the Dairy Queen’s around here are long gone, I’ll just have to save that for my trip to Minnesota next week!

This year I wanted to make something new and a little more challenging then usual. Challenging was definitely right. The exterior of the cake looked pretty mouthwatering but the inside, oh the inside was a mess. Luckily, I’m a firm believer in taste over presentation so things turned out okay.

That beautiful chocolate cake was ideally supposed to have three thin layers of cake, separated by a chocolate mousse, and then topped with a chocolate ganache. Unfortunately, I found out that I’m apparently not so hot at cutting multiple layers of a cake out of one 9 inch cake. The bottom layer turned out perfectly, but the next two fell apart a little bit…next time I think I’ll make just two layers of cake so that they are thicker and easier to cut/handle, instead of trying to make tiny 1 inch layers.

Regardless of my mini failure at perfection, I still think this cake warrants being shared so I share with you the recipe in hopes that you’ll give it a shot and come back and tell me how you kicked that recipes butt. This cake was the perfect summertime celebration cake. As much as I love a good chocolate cake covered in a chocolate buttercream, when it is as hot as it is in the valley, you need something cool.

Note: The recipe said that this cake serves 8 people, which was very frightening. Seven of us ate about 1/3 of it. So if you plan on making this, invite over lots of people! Or eat it all yourself, no judgement.

I hope that you all had a lovely time with your family, appreciating how great it is to have people who support you and your crazy ideas.

Happy Father’s Day. Happy Birthday.

Happy Happy Happy!

Fair warning, I spread out making this cake over two days so that I wasn’t spending hours in the kitchen.