Frothed Milk and Toffee

I have discovered one of the best kitchen gadgets ever made: the milk frother (pictured above). My love for coffee has just been multiplied. I have frothed chocolate milk as well which is absolutely delicious. Frothing milk for cereal may have gone a little too far though...

Coming home from studio, T was hungry. So he brought over some fun stripy pasta! I had never tried anything like it before. 

 

It tasted all the same to me, but T insists otherwise. But it matched my plates, so I was happy. 

I got a request to make some peanut butter fudge squares, but upon searching for the recipe, I came across this recipe for toffee bars. Too good to pass up, I went out to the 7-eleven and CVS to find the ingredients. I had to do some modifying since I couldn't find much... and it ended up being a complete experiment. (I think the recipe is a bastardization of one of Dorie Greenspans'). I used Hershey's bars (a mix of the special dark and milk)... but I would suggest using at least baking chocolate chips for this. Next time. 

Toffee Crunch Bars

1 1/2 c. flour

1 T instant coffee or espresso powder

1/2 t. salt

1 c. butter (softened)

3/4 c. brown sugar

3 oz. chocolate chips

Topping:

6-10 oz (depending how thick you want your chocolate layer) chocolate chips

1 c. crushed toffee bars (like Heath bars)

Preheat the oven to 375*F. 

In a large bowl, combine the flour, espresso powder and salt. In a medium sized bowl, cream the sugar and butter until smooth. Combine the flour mixture with the butter mixture and add the chocolate chips. Combine until it forms a dough. 

Butter a pan (around 9x13), and press the dough into it with your fingers, covering the bottom evenly and smoothly. Bake for 20 minutes or until baked through, when the bubbling slows down (be careful that it doesn't burn on the edges- mine singed a little bit, and later it will become very crunchy).

Remove the pan from the oven and turn the oven off. Evenly spread the chocolate chips over the dough and return to the oven for 2 minutes in order to melt the chocolate. Remove from the oven and quickly spread the chocolate over the dough evenly. Sprinkle the toffee crumbles over the chocolate evenly and allow them to cool. Cut into 2" squares (or whatever size you like). If the chocolate has a tough time setting, pop them in the refrigerator for a few minutes. You may have to break them apart a little when cutting them. Mine did not want to be cut square, but maybe I baked them a little too long. 

These are really crunchy and very sweet. They will be sure to satisfy all sugar and chocolate cravings. 

Enjoy with some frothed milk and coffee! 

When You Have Lemons...

I have had some strange contradictions of taste lately- one minute I want warm and comforting, the next I want fresh and light. So here is fresh and light! 

I have been looking for a yogurt cake recipe that isn't too rubbery. Most recipes work best with thick, whole milk yogurt like the Fage one, but I didn't have any on hand, so I used a basic lowfat one, and it worked pretty well. The lemon can be replaced with another citrus- orange, grapefruit, etc.

Lemon Yogurt Cake 

1 1/2 c. flour

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 c. plain yogurt (thick, whole milk is best, but you can make the cake lighter by using a lowfat kind)

1 c. sugar

zest of 1-2 lemons (depending on your fondness of really lemony taste)

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

1/4 c. melted butter

1/3 c. lemon juice

glaze:

1 c. powdered sugar

3 T. lemon juice (or 1 1/2 T water and 1 t. vanilla)

Preheat the oven to 350*F

grate the zest of two lemons and squeeze the juice into a separate cup. Set aside. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt, zest, butter, eggs and juice. Add the yogurt mixture to the flour mixture and using a hand mixer, combine until it forms a smooth batter. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for 40-50 minutes until a knife comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly before removing from the pan, then cool completely on a rack or dish. 

For the glaze- combine the sugar with the juice so it forms a glaze. Pour over the cake and let it harden for a few minutes. Enjoy either warm or at room temperature.

... and the next minute.... marble cake.

No-Ginger Snaps

I really do not like ginger, but I really do like all of the warm flavors that are often found with ginger like cinnamon, nutmeg and molasses. Its not hard to just get rid of the ginger, so I made these no-ginger snaps to go with the copious amounts of tea I drink to stay warm. 

This recipe is basically me wishing it was still the Christmas season. Hey, if its going to be this cold, it may as well be warm and delicious!

No Ginger Snaps (makes about 50)

2 cups flour

1 1/2 t. baking soda

3 t. cinnamon (less if you want them a little milder)

1/2 t. nutmeg

1/2 - 1 t. black pepper (optional, it adds the heat you get from ginger)

1 t. salt

1 c. sugar (its best with dark brown sugar, but I used white)

1/4 c. oil

2 eggs

1/3 cup honey OR, replace this and 1/4 c. of the sugar with molasses

Preheat the oven to 350*F

Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, completely combine the sugar, oil, eggs and honey. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and using either your hands or a mixer, work until it forms a dough. This dough can be refrigerated for later or used immediately. 

Roll into 1 inch balls and place an inch apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the top is golden. Do not worry if they are very squishy as they will get harder and be chewy when they cool. Let them cool on the tray for 10 minutes before putting on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container if you want them to stay soft, or leave them out for a day or two if you want them a little crunchier. You can also bake them for a few extra minutes to make them harder. 

These are really good with a cup of tea or (my favorite of course) coffee.