How to Make Pizza Without Dough | « LXRCUISINE I was getting kind of sick of ordering delivery pizza (this happens at least 2-3 times a month). It was time to put a spin on gourmet pizza, but I just didn't know what it would be. Without pizza dough or an oven that is capable of creating the perfect pizza crust (I don't have an oven that can go up to a 1000 degrees), I decided I would use potatoes instead. This recipe is elegant enough to serve at a dinner party, but easy enough that you can cook it within 5-15 minutes. For 4 small, personal sized pizzas 4" in diameter, you will need: 2 large potatoes peeled and cleaned4 teaspoons salt (to flavor the potatoes) I'm doing four different flavor combinations here, and the measurements for each combination will top 4 small pizzas or 1 large pizza. Cheese & pepperoni pizza: 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese1/4 cup marinara sauce10 slices of pepperoni (or as much as you like)7-8 leaves of fresh basil Mushroom swiss and ham pizza: Shrimp scampi pizza: Bleu cheese & arugula pizza: Thanks for reading.
Cardamom Chai Cupcakes It’s easy to make filled cupcakes and it’s a handy kitchen skill to have because it allows you to do more with your cupcakes than just frost them. You can improve a dry cupcake by infusing some moisture into it with a creamy filling and you can bring in new flavor to an otherwise plain expanse of cake. I filled up these Cardamom Chai Spiced Cupcakes with a lemon frosting for the latter reason, bringing in a lot of bright citrus flavor to give the cake a burst of summertime with each bite. The cupcakes themselves are flavored with vanilla, cardamom and chai tea. The frosting and the filling start off the same way, with a lemon-infused sour cream buttercream frosting. Lemon Frosted Cardamom Chai Cupcakes 2 cups all purpose flour 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp ground cardamom 1/2 cup butter, room temperature 1 1/4 cups sugar 2 large eggs 2 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 cup brewed chai tea, room temperature 1/2 cup milk Preheat oven to 350F. Makes 16 cupcakes
Nutella-Mallow Pillow Pockets When I tell you this, take me very seriously…..run, don’t walk to your nearest grocery store and make these today! I knew I wanted to make a Nutella treat the other day and when this simple idea came to mind I had no idea how crazy good it would be! The pastry with the gooey disappearing marshmallow and nutella make for a treat that you just must try for yourself! Enjoy! Can you handle this line up?! Um….this stuff should be illegal. Ok, easy easy. Take a little fork and crimp those edges, nice and firm. Next, you’ll brush with an egg white wash and sprinkle with sugar, mmmmm! Get a load of this! I sprinkled mine with a little powdered sugar Oooey, gooey and delish! Nutella-Mallow Pillow Pockets 1 package puff pastry, 2 pastry sheets thawed 1 Cup Nutella spread 1 Cup mini marshmallows Egg white wash: 1 egg white whisked with 1 Tablespoon water Powdered sugar for dusting 1. 8 pockets Have a great new week! Other recipes you may enjoy...
Root Beer Float Cupcakes I have been itching to make some root beer cupcakes with my bottle of Sonoma Syrup Co’s Root Beer Syrup because the syrup is so flavorful and seemed like it would pass on a great root beer flavor into baked goods. The syrup has concentrated the root beer flavor and it comes through much more strongly (and more naturally) than using root beer-flavored extract might. Once I had cupcakes, I decided to keep on going and turn them into Root Beer Float Cupcakes by topping them off with vanilla ice cream The cupcakes are moist and have a nice, tight crumb that seems to pass on more flavor in each bite. You can really taste the root beer, and the hint of vanilla – which many root beers also include – rounds out the flavor. They can be eaten plain, but they’re at their best when served with ice cream and a drizzle of root beer syrup. If you don’t have the root beer syrup, and don’t want to buy it, you have two options to make these cupcakes. Preheat oven to 350F. Makes 12
Brazilian Lemonade This is my most favorite drink. Ever. Maybe I’d feel differently if I drank (as in alcohol), but there is nothing I love more than a warm, breezy afternoon and a pitcher of Brazilian lemonade. I didn’t try it for a long, long time because I was very put off by putting sweetened condensed milk in with citrus fruit. It seemed very wrong. It starts off with fresh, juicy limes. You pop them in a blender with some sugar water and pulse just a few times. Pour the mixture from the blender through a strainer and into a pitcher, thus saving all of the flavorful liquid. Then the secret ingredient: sweetened condensed milk. Brazilian LemonadeOur Best Bites Ingredients: 4 juicy limes (try and find ones with thin, smooth skins; they’re the juiciest and the thin skin cuts down on the chance of your drink being bitter) 1 c. sugar 6 c. cold water 6 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk Instructions: Mix cold water and sugar very well and chill until ready to use. Place 1/2 of the limes in your blender.
Chocolate Orange It’s been a while since I baked a batch of cupcakes, but I started to get the itch for some of the miniature cakes this weekend and pulled out my trusty cupcake pan. Some freshly picked oranges – plucked from the tree before the orange-loving squirrels could get to them – were my inspiration to make some orange and chocolate cupcakes. I used a simple cake recipe that I come back to time and again. I’ve heard it called wacky cake and eggless cake before, but it’s just a good one in my book no matter what name it goes by. Using cocoa powder in the cupcakes gives them a really good, strong chocolate flavor. These are tasty and easy to make – especially since you don’t have to wait for butter to soften before you can start mixing. Chocolate Orange Cupcakes 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1 cup sugar 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 3/4 cup orange juice 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tbsp orange zest Preheat oven to 350F. Makes 12.
cookie dough truffles « The Domestic Mama & The Village Cook Oh baby. Oh yes. You can have your dough and eat it too. No raw eggs here. WOOOOOO~HOOOOO! So, these are no-bake, addictive and may even help you win friends and influence people, rumor has it. It makes a lot, so be sure and share. I told you it makes a lot. You don’t have to dip them, either. But, I did dip some, too…. had to do something with all that chocolate. To make these you will need: Cookie dough truffles 1/2 cup softened salted butter 3/4 cup light brown sugar 1 tsp vanilla 1 (14oz) can of sweetened condensed milk 2 1/4 c flout * this is a word spell-check always gets me back with{grr} flour is a great substitute for flout-whatever flout is. 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips So easy: combine (in a bowl,) the butter, sugar,vanilla,and sweetened condensed milk. Now, you may be able to form this into balls at this point. Melt 12 oz chocolate chips with 1 tbs shortening or butter. Now, you can dip the balls using a spoon- or fill pastry bags with the melted chocolate and drizzle. [/print_this]
Bake It in a Cake Pink Heart–Filled Cupcakes with Strawberry Taffy Frosting These vanilla bean cupcakes really have heart. Cut or bite into one to see how much love went into them. The best part: they’re surprisingly simple. And if your sweetheart happens to be a chocolate fan, you could just as easily bake your heart into some chocolate cake batter. If you go that route, I recommend finishing them off with generous spoonful of decadent ganache for a true death-by-chocolate experience. Makes 12 cupcakes Cupcakes ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature1½ cups granulated sugar3 large eggsSeeds from 1 vanilla bean2 teaspoons baking powder½ teaspoon baking soda¼ teaspoon salt2½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour1⅓ cups whole milkRed food coloring Frosting 10 bite-sized pieces strawberry taffy2 tablespoons heavy cream1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature2 cups powdered sugar12 pieces Sweetheart candy 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Tip: Don’t know how to use vanilla bean?
OMG These Geeky Banana Sculptures are Bananas! Banana art: Dragon bananas, superhero bananas, and zombie bananas! Read on to see even more bananawesomeness carvings. Make sure you [ FAN THIS ] and get daily awesomeness right in your feed!!! Photos by y_yamaden [ source ] Pink Snoball Cakelettes There's nothing like a pretty pink dessert to lift your spirits, and these little pink cakes definitely make me smile. Their appearance reminds me of Hostess SnoBalls in miniature. I found the recipe online, and after reading it entirely, I realized that a few ingredients and measurements had been left out of the text. (Believe me, I'm not passing judgment. I've accidentally done this before!) Instead of tossing the whole idea, I decided to tinker around with the recipe and see if I could puzzle together the missing elements. Inspiration: The trees outside my window are pink! The finished batter will be very thick. Grease a mini muffin pan with shortening and fill the muffin cups with batter. These need to be dipped quickly. After a thorough coating in the sticky syrup, you'll roll them in coconut. After several dips, your coconut may turn pink like mine did. (...love it!) This recipe makes about 3 dozen. Syrup and Coating: 1 cup Sugar 1 cup water 1 tsp. coconut extract
Cake Batter Chocolate Bark I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to share a recipe with you. Or to lick a bowl. The secret ingredient here? You may think I’m crazy… but it’s a spoonful of actual cake mix. All you must do is whisk it well into the melted white chocolate. The truth is, I’ve never been much of a “bark” person. After laying on the couch slurping butter-soaked shrimp scampi, plowing through a bag of m&m’s and watching 7 hours of Lifetime television, I had my answer: cake batter. And I didn’t want to just make white chocolate bark. Did you know I have an obsession with sprinkles? I’d put them on everything if I could. Cake Batter Chocolate Bark 6 ounces high quality dark chocolate (I used Lindt 70%) 12 ounces high quality white chocolate (I used Lindt) 3 teaspoons yellow cake mix sprinkles of your choice (at least 3 tablespoons worth or more) Melt dark chocolate either in the microwave or a double boiler. Melt while chocolate. Once set, break into chunks.
Vanilla Cupcakes Can you believe March is only a few days away? That means St. Paddy's day is not far behind. I'm all for starting the celebration early, so let the baking of green treats begin! While shopping at the market last week I spotted some of the greenest pistachios I've ever seen! I was inspired. They ended up being ground in the food processor for a colorful topping. The frosting is a yummy cream cheese and honey combo that goes nicely with the pistachios. We can pretend. Yield: 15 Cupcakes Cake: 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 3/4 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp. salt 6 Tbsp butter, softened 3/4 cup sugar 2 large eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 vanilla bean, seeded and hull discarded 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp milk Heat oven to 350 and line cupcake pan with papers. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture and milk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Honey Cream Cheese Frosting: 8oz package cream cheese, room temperature 1 stick of butter, softened 1/4 cup clover honey Assembly:
Macaroons How to Make Macaroons Toasted coconut is one of pastrydom’s most beautiful sights, I think. These shaggy cookies resemble French macarons only in name, however they are a true pedestrian delight, at least if you like coconut. I think they deserve the royal treatment. Next — and this is an important step — stir your can of cream of coconut. Combine all your liquid ingredients together in a medium bowl… …and give them a good whisk. Add to the coconut mixture… …and toss to combine. Lay heaping tablespoons down on parchment-lined sheet pans (you’ll have about 45). Then with moistened fingertips, go back and form the heaps into rounded mounds. Bake on high racks at 375 for seven minutes, rotate the pans back to front and top to bottom, and bake seven minutes more, or until the coconut is nicely browned. If you want to gild the lily a bit, you can dip the flat bottoms of the macarons in a little melted semisweet chocolate, and cool them on parchment. Coconut Macaroon Recipe
Choco Cuppies w/ Flaming Strawberries Call me easily amused, but these little torch-topped cupcakes delight me. Besides being a cute novelty item for a party, I think they would add a little drama to the end of a romantic meal. I've been looking for something different to serve for Valentine's dessert, and this is definitely different. For the cake portion, I chose a One Bowl Chocolate Cupcake recipe because 1. it's quick 2. it is easy, and 3. it fits my prerequisite for a light ending on date night. I should say, a light ending provided you don't eat too many. The cakes are just sweet enough, and have a light, fluffy crumb - the perfect vehicle for rich chocolate buttercream. Notes for flaming strawberries:Any alcohol below 80 proof will not ignite well. Shaina made a margarita version of this on Babble Food. Chocolate Cupcakes with Flaming Strawberries Yield: About 20 cupcakes [click to print]Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with cupcake papers and set aside. Hollow the strawberries carefully.