Coconut-Tangerine Snowball Cupcakes

Coconut Cupcakes - Two Ways!

The "cupcake" to the left is actually a Christmas ornament I made over the weekend following directions from Bake It Pretty. Isn't it adorable?! While this cupcake will be around for a while, the Coconut-Tangerine Snowball Cupcakes I made the same day won't be.

Combining two of my favorite flavors, coconut and tangerine, these cupcakes from Midwest Living magazine are delicious! Light and moist, coconut gives the cupcakes texture and tangerine in both the batter and the frosting adds sweetness. Topped with a snowy layer of coconut, these 'snowballs' are a perfect holiday treat. I think this recipe would translate beautifully into a gorgeous layer cake for any occasion.

Coconut-Tangerine Snowball Cupcakes
Midwest Living, November/December 2009

3 eggs
1-1/3 cups buttermilk or sour milk*
2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1-2/3 cups sugar
2 tsp. finely shredded tangerine, orange or lemon peel
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 cup flaked coconut, toasted
Tangerine Creamy Frosting (recipe follows)
Flaked coconut (optional)

1. Allow eggs and buttermilk to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Line twenty-four 2-1/2-inch muffin cups with paper bake cups; set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, tangerine peel and vanilla; beat until well combined. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Stir in toasted coconut.

3. Fill prepared muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake in a 350° oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until cupcakes are golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely before frosting. Makes 24 cupcakes

4. Frost cupcakes with Tangerine Creamy Frosting and sprinkle with additional flaked coconut, if you like.

Tangerine Creamy Frosting: In a large mixing bowl, beat one 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened; 3 tablespoons butter, softened; 3/4 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon finely shredded tangerine, orange or lemon peel with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Gradually add 1-3/4 cups powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Makes about 1-1/3 cups frosting.

*To make sour milk: In a 2-cup glass measure place 4 teaspoons lemon juice or vinegar. Add enough milk to make 1-1/3 cups; stir. Let stand for 5 minutes before using.

Strawberry Shortbread

I love shortbread cookies and was drawn to this strawberry version because it wasn't an obvious choice for a Christmas cookie. A little red cake glitter sprinkled over the top and I think this little cookie would fit in beautifully on any cookie tray. It would also be a great choice for other holidays (I'm thinking bunny cutouts at Easter or hearts at Valentine's Day) or for bridal and baby showers.

Strawberry preserves are added to both the cookie dough and the glaze. The preserves really shine in the glaze but I couldn't detect any strawberry flavor in the dough. While I loved the end results, the dough was a bit difficult to work with. The recipe states to knead the dough, but I had to manhandle it in order to get a dough that I could roll and cut out. I was concerned that the necessary roughness may result in a tough cookie, that wasn't the case. Next time, I may add a 1/3 cup less flour and see if that makes the dough more manageable.

Let me know if you try these cookies this holiday season!

Strawberry Shortbread

Christmas Cookies 2007 - Better Homes & Gardens Special Interest Publications

2 tablespoons strawberry preserves

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

Strawberry Glaze

Coarse sugar (optional)

1. Snip any large pieces of fruti in the strawberry preserves. Beat butter, strawberry preserves, and almond extract in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Transfer butter mixture to a sheet of plastic wrap; shape mixture into a 6-inch log. Wrap and freeze for 1 to 2 hours or until firm.

2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Stir together flour, granulated sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add butter mixture, breaking or cutting log if necessary to fit in a bowl. Cut butter mixture into flour mixture with a pastry blender until mixture starts to cling together. Knead dough until smooth; form dough into a ball.

3. Divide dough in half. Roll each portion of dough to a 1/4 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out dough rounds with a scallooped 1 1/2 to 2 inch cookie cutter. Place cutouts 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

4. Bake in a preheated oven for 12 to 16 minutes or until edges just start to brown. Transfer cookies to wire racks and cool completely. Spread tops of cookies with Strawberry Glaze; if desired, sprinkle with coarse sugar. Let stand until set. Makes about fifty-four 2-inch cookies or seventy-six 1 1/2 inch cookies.

Strawberry Glaze - Microwave 1 tablespoon strawberry preserves in a medium microwave-safe bowl on 50 percent power (medium) for 30 seconds or until melted; snip any large pieces in the preserves. Stir in 2 cups powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon milk using a wire whisk. Stir in enough additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to make a smooth glaze of spreading consistency. Makes about 2/3 cup.

Brown Paper Package Exchange

This past weekend my daughter stuck her head out of the back door and yelled "Dad, a package was just delivered!" My husband, busy helping load up our old coach yelled back that he wasn't expecting anything. She then looked eagerly at me, assuming the delivery was a Christmas present for her. All of my online purchases had already been delivered so I stopped what I was doing and headed to the front door to check it out. Addressed to me, I didn't recognize the return name or address. Then, I realized it was my Brown Paper Package Exchange!

I am participating in a fun online event for bloggers called the Brown Paper Package Exchange arranged by Melissa and Emily over at Max and Ellie. Bloggers sign up for the event and then are partnered with another blogger. Each of us send the other something for them, something for their home, and something to eat. I love this type of thing and have had a blast putting together the package I'm sending and now, receiving this box of goodies from Marci (mother of Lulu the Baker, a fellow SMSer).

The card featured a lovely bird and Marci wrote that she and I shared a love of birds and that she loved putting together theme gifts. She couldn't have known, but I love putting together theme gifts too and it was so fun to receive one. I anxiously opened each beautifully wrapped gift:

First, was this too-pretty-to open soap from one of my favorite stores - Anthropologie:

Next, came this beautiful calendar that will bring me a year full of smiles as it sits on my desk:

I literally yelped (embarassing, but true) when I opened this tin full of the cutest bird rubber stamps ever:

As if this wasn't enough, not one, but two boxes of beautiful bird ornaments that promptly landed on my bird themed tree.

Last, but not least, was a package of yummy white chocolate popcorn. Thanks for all of the beautiful gifts Marci!

SMS Chocolate Cheesecake with Blackberry Glaze

Shandy at Pastry Heaven by Shandy selected Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake with Blackberry Glaze for the final SMS selection this year. I have missed the last couple of weeks and really wanted to participate this week. I also happen to LOVE chocolate cheesecake!

There is nothing difficult about this recipe, but it does involve several steps and several hours total time; however, the time and effort are so worth it because the end result is phenomenal! Incredibly rich, this is one of the creamiest cheesecakes I have ever tasted, let alone made.

I assume that the creaminess comes for the addition of chocolate infused cream to the cheesecake mixture. I did omit the espresso and the rum because I didn't have them and didn't feel the recipe would suffer. The crunch of the hazelnuts in the crust is a nice surprise and balances the creamy texture of the cheesecake.

Thanks Shandy for this awesome selection! Check out what the other SMS'ers did here.

Cookies & Cream Fudge

I first discovered Amy, a/k/a That Winsome Girl, at a local art festival this past spring. She is incredibly talented and makes some of the most romantic, feminine jewelry I have ever seen. I currently own several of her necklaces and hope to expand my collection soon.

In addition to her jewelry design, Amy writes a beautiful blog full of great recipes, decorating, and craft ideas including this recipe for Cookies and Cream Fudge. My daughter loves cookies and cream anything so I knew these would be a priority on my Recipes to Make list.

Super easy to make, this fudge is rich and decadent and could easily pass for pricey fudge from a speciality shop. The recipe makes a large loaf size of fudge that could easily be spread out into several individual gifts or as an addition to your holiday cookie and candy trays. Thanks for this great recipe Amy!

Cookies & Cream Fudge
yields 2 1/2 lbs
18 ounces white chocolate chips (about 3 cups) (I used Nestle)
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups coarsely broken Oreo cookies (about half of a 1 lb. 2 oz. package)

Line an 8x4'' loaf pan with aluminum foil and spray with a non-stick spray. Alternatively, you can also use an 8-inch square pan. Break Oreo cookies into 4 to 6 pieces gently with hands and set aside. You want coarsely broken cookies as small bits with crumbs will turn your fudge gray and result in a grainy texture.

In a heavy saucepan over low heat, melt white chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, salt and vanilla extract, stirring constantly. Once the white chocolate chips have melted completely, remove from heat and gently fold in the crushed cookies until well incorporated.

Spread the fudge evenly into your lined pan. Chill until firm, at least 2 hours, before cutting. Lift fudge from your pan and gently peel off the foil. Cut fudge into 12 thick slices. Each slice can be left whole or cut into 2 or 3 smaller pieces. Store the fudge, covered in the refrigerator.

Note: I used a store brand of cookie and found they weren't as sturdy as Oreos. Next time, I will pay a little extra for Oreos.

Cookie Dough Truffles

I'm so excited that it is time to start Christmas baking! Baking is my favorite form of cooking and I love to be covered in flour and chocolate with two or three recipes going at the same time. This year I have found a million recipes I want to try. I seriously don't know how I'm going to have time to get to them all...

My daughter and I love raw cookie dough, so much so that I often make cookies just to have the dough to nibble on. So when I came across these cookie dough truffles they went to the top of the Christmas baking list. These were easy enough to make and really do taste like cookie dough!

I love to make candies, but dipping chocolate is not my favorite thing to do. I made a few of these by dipping them in melted chocolate chips but wasn't happy with the results so I threw them back in the fridge while I came up with a different plan. I swung by our neighborhood candy shop (there are actually two wonderful, local candy shops within a mile of my house - very dangerous) and picked up some milk chocolate coins and this handy little dipping tool:

It looks like something you don't want to see the doctor pull out during an exam but it worked out pretty well, especially once I figured out that I could use the tool to both dip and then clean up the chocolate so it looked prettier. This will come in handy as I plan on making at least two more recipes that require a coating of chocolate! Enjoy!

Cookie Dough Truffles

from Angela Baxter via Paula's Best Dishes

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup semisweet mini chocolate morsels
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 1/2 pounds chocolate bark candy coating, melted

Directions
In a large bowl cream butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Add vanilla. Gradually beat in flour and add milk. Add chocolate morsels and pecans, mixing well. Shape into 1-inch balls. Place on waxed paper; chill 2 hours.
*Cook's Note: Since the dough is sticky, roll your fingers into flour. This will make it easier to roll.
Melt chocolate bark candy coating in a double boiler. Using 2 forks, dip cookie balls into candy coating to cover. Place on waxed paper and chill to set. Store in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Notes: This is a very sticky dough so I chilled it for a couple of hours. Then I used a small cookie dough scoop to form the truflles. Worked great!

Rosemary Rolls

Sorry - no SMS this week. In the spirit of making sweets on Sunday, I did start my Christmas goodies, but today's project didn't get finished so that will have to wait. Instead, I'm posting about these easy and delicious rolls that I made a couple of weeks back.

One of the things I love about food blogs, and the Internet in general, is what I call hopscotch. You know, when you start on one site, and then follow a link from that page to another site, and then a link from that site, and so on until you have bookmarked more sites and projects than you could possibly ever get to? Hopscotching led me to the super cute blog, Plain Chicken. She found it over at the Pioneer Woman's site (which I also love).

These were delicious and will be on my table this Christmas because they take little more effort than any other quick roll but taste and look homemade. The recipe calls for fresh rosemary but I substituted dried Italian seasoning. I think they would be delicious with fresh thyme or slathered with honey butter. I loved using my big cast iron skillet for a fun and rustic presentation, but cookie sheets would work just fine. Thanks Steph for this great recipe!

Pioneer Woman's Rosemary Rolls

7 Frozen, Unbaked Dinner Rolls (I used Rhodes)
3 Tbsp Melted Butter Rosemary Herb Seasoning or Fresh Rosemary, Coarsely Chopped
Coarse Sea Salt

Spray a small iron skillet with cooking spray (or coat with olive oil). Place 7 frozen rolls in the skillet, leaving plenty of room for rising. Cover and allow to rise for several hours. (Mine took 4 hours to fully rise) After rising, brush rolls with melted butter. Sprinkle on chopped rosemary seasoning. Brush with additional butter. Bake according to roll package directions (usually 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes), until rolls are a deep golden brown on top. Brush with additional butter and serve in skillet.