Gluten-Free Rolled Sugar Cookies...or Halloween Cupookies!

I made some cookies the other day. Some really yummy cookies. Some sugar cookies that are gluten-free, courtesy of Gluten-Free Girl (if you don't need gluten-free cookies, use my favorite sugar cookie recipe instead).

When I made these, I walked around the house all day, thinking, "How clever am I? Watch me make up a funny portmanteau for these!" (Because I was asked: Portmanteau - definition. For the record, I knew there was a word for what I was trying to do, but I had to look it up, too.)

I quickly settled on 'coopcakes.' Cookies + Cupcakes = Coopcakes. However, after throwing the word out there a few times, I couldn't get the word coop out of my head. As in chicken coop. Seriously?! Coopcakes?! I don't even wanna know what would come out of a chicken coop that could be considered a coopcake! Moving on...

Boo-tiful Cupcakes: Hi Hat Ghosts!

Okay, okay...technically these aren't hi hats, but yours hopefully will be!

As you'll recall from yesterday, I have been unsuccessful in all attempts to melt white chocolate. I'm frustrated by it, but at the same time, I'm glad that I can share my trials with everyone! It's a good lesson learned. You know the saying, "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade!"

These sweet ghosts are my compromise with Mother Nature. They are what I was able to achieve without my white chocolate or candy melts. However, I hadn't originally planned for today's hi hats to be ghosts at all. My original idea was more colorful, but I'm hoping to be able to share them with you next year. For now, I took advantage of the white, fluffy filling of a hi hat and came up with a pure white alternative for Halloween!

They're honestly pretty darned cute, though! Obviously, mine haven't been dipped, but they hardly look any different than you lovely dipped ghosts will look! These also aren't nearly as tall as they would be if everything had gone according to plan. Because of the nature of the frosting, I had to keep mine on the short side. Had I been able to dip them, they would have had a layer of chocolate to protect the frosting from the heat and humidity, so they could have been much taller (which I hope you will venture to do!). As it is, I actually love them!

Plus, they're not hard to make at all! I used the same frosting for these that I used in my original hi hat post. I had already had a vanilla cupcake made for my original plan, but these could easily be made in any flavor you choose. You can use the same cupcake from my other hi hat post, or, since the tops are coated in white chocolate, you could make a matching cupcake. If you choose to make a special flavor cupcake, like lemon, you could easily substitute half of the vanilla in the frosting with an extract to match the cupcake.

I Need Your Help... [UPDATED]

I had a really exciting post planned for today. I've been looking forward to it for weeks. I could hardly wait to get it done and show everyone, because I just knew that you would all love it!

Then life happened.

I try to stay ahead of the game on here and have my recipes made, tested, photographed, and detailed in advance, but for seasonal treats, I tend to make them closer to the holiday I'm celebrating. That way, I get to share them at parties, school events, etc. However, when I had to travel back to the States recently, it really threw me for a loop. I had at least five great Halloween recipes that I wanted to get in over a two week period, but suddenly only had one week to do it.

"No problem," I thought. "I can just post every day during the week leading up to Halloween!" For some reason, almost four months of living on this island still hasn't seemed to sink in, and I actually believed that everything would work out fine and go exactly like I wanted (naive in the best of circumstances). Needless to say, that's not the case.

Admittedly, I knew there would be certain obstacles. With the brittle that I posted yesterday, for example. It was very, very smooth sailing, but I knew that in order to get my candy to set and become hard candy, I would need to place it in front of a fan to keep the air moving. That's just part of dealing with this environment (I know I mention the humidity here a lot, but it is truly it's own entity). Furthermore, once the candy was finished, mine would have to be refrigerated. In the past, that's never been the case.

If you live in Tennessee, for example, I'm sure you deal with your share of humidity, but the thing is, your humidity comes and goes. The humidity here, or in places like Florida I'm sure, it just hangs from the sky like Spanish moss. And, quite frankly, even in Florida, you are more than likely fortunate enough to have the luxury of air conditioning. With the high rates of electricity here, it really isn't feasible.

The humidity settles over everything in a sticky blanket. That everything includes candy. If you have children, and you've ever given them a sucker only to find it stuck to the back of one of your living room throw pillows covered in dog hair, lint, and other household debris, then you have a good idea of what the humidity here does to hard candy. It's like one giant, invisible, sticky toddler mouth.

So, here I sit. Typing away, and getting ready to tell you all about how discouraged I am. About 50% of the work I do in this tiny, stifling kitchen, either fails or falls far below my standard, and it is wearing on me. And it's not just my inability to create the confections I envision, like I've nearly always been able to do in the past. It's also the completely inescapable reality that I am so very limited.

I am admitting, here and now, that I have been incredibly spoiled while living in the States, and I blithely took it all for granted. Need some gluten-free flour? Sure! Just head on over to Whole Foods! Candy melts in every color imaginable? No problem! Michael's is right around the corner. Don't get me wrong, I'm well aware of the isolation of many U.S. towns and cities. But even then, there is that possibility to get in your car, drive to a bigger city, and get what you need...if you really want it bad enough. I live on an island. I can only drive as far as the edge of the water before I have to turn back towards home with head hanging.

Suddenly, I'm lucky to have white chocolate to add color to (and only after ordering the candy coloring well in advance). Don't even think about ordering the candy melts, they only have a 50/50 chance of surviving the trip...if you can get them on time. The mail system here is ridiculous.

Except, here's the real kicker...the lesson I learned today that I can't seem to find a solution to: I'm not even lucky enough to have white chocolate. Yes, it's available here, for an exorbitant price, but beyond that, it just won't melt properly! I can only assume that once again, it's the ever present moisture in the air. What's more, this category of 'white chocolate' appears to include candy melts (which are, in fact, basically white chocolate).

My depressingly unmelted white chocolate.

That's right, folks. I write a food blog based primarily around baking, and not just baking, but what I'd like to think is creative baking-fun, cute, and clever ways to decorate the things we like to bake-and I can't use white chocolate or candy melts in their melted forms. Goodbye cake bites (a la Bakerella), sayonara candy coated pretzels, hast la vista white chocolate frosting. I could seriously cry.

I apologize for my absolute negativity. I guess I just wanted to get on here and have the freedom to whine. And, after all, it's my blog, isn't it? I can do what I want on here. Except that I am a naturally positive person, so this is so going against the grain for me.

Allow me, then, to end this on a more positive note. I am asking you, my wonderful friends and readers, does anyone know why this is happening? Is it in fact the humidity, or something else? Something more easily tamed. Could any one of you please help me solve my puzzle? At this point, I am resigned to holding off on all white chocolate/candy melt recipes and ideas until I return to the States (Summer 2012), but my gratitude would know no bounds if you, best followers in the whole blogoshpere, could help me get to the bottom of this!

Some important facts:

I have melted white chocolate, as well as candy melts, successfully dozens and dozens of times in the past.

I attempted to melt the chocolate in a bowl set over barely simmering water. This is how I have always melted chocolate, and my preferred method (also my version of a double boiler).

I prepared the chocolate both with, and without, additives (like shortening) that help prevent seizing.

I have not attempted to melt the chocolate in a microwave, because we don't own one. However, my husband is going to test the chocolate in the microwave where he works. This may be a poor test, though, as the building he works in is also air conditioned, thereby negating the humidity and possibly giving skewed results. (Man! That was a geeky sentence...)

Finally, milk, semi-sweet, and bittersweet chocolate have all melted beautifully for me here (Weird, huh?).

I hope we can put our heads together and solve this!

Sincerely,
Sugarbear (Darla)


UPDATE: Thank you to everyone for all of your tips and advice! And also for your questions as to what I'm doing/ using...they have helped me examine a lot of what may be happening. IThe answer definitely to be the humidity. Apparently (according to several chocolate companies), the moisture in the air attaches itself to the sugar in the chocolate causing it to crystallize. A friend of mine that lives here on the island has shared with me that the only way she's been able to successfully melt white chocolate and candy melts is in the microwave. This makes sense, since a microwave would zap all the humidity right out of the air.

I don't have a microwave yet, but I'm getting one soon, and I'll let you all know how it does!

Homemade Halloween Candy That's a Scream to Make: Pumpkin Seed Brittle

When Halloween rolls around, everyone is all like, "candy, candy, CANDY!!" but nobody seems to actually make too much of it. Most people (myself included) make cupcakes or fun cookies. I mean, it's understandable, though. Candy is flippin' hard to make!

Well, wait...actually...no, it's not. It just seems like it would be. And I guess it kind of looks like it would be too, but trust me, it isn't. Well, this candy isn't anyway.

I wanted to make something a little more unusual this year, but still in keeping with the season, so pumpkin seeds were my first thought for this recipe. Why not replace the peanuts in peanut brittle with pumpkin seeds? I already had a great brittle recipe, so that put me 90% of the way there already! I just had to figure out the best kind of pumpkin seeds to use, and how to use them. That ended up being stupidly easy, so I was ready to go!

This stuff is so surprisingly easy to make, it's scaaarrrryyyyy! Sorry. I won't do that again. More important than the ease, though, is how very, very tasty it is! I don't even normally like brittle, but I can't stop eating this! It's the perfect combination of sweet, spicy, and toasty, nutty flavors! Plus, it only takes about 15 minutes to cook up (and it can be made vegan, as well as gluten- and dairy-free)!

**Important note!! I just discovered this morning, like, right now, that this stuff is even better the next day! Wow.**

I chose to start out with raw, pre-hulled pumpkin seeds, but couldn't find them anywhere on island, so I ordered mine from Nuts Online. You could probably use already roasted seeds, but I would recommend getting them unsalted.

The raw seeds, also called pepitas, should be pre-hulled (shelled) and greenish colored.

Place the seeds and a little canola oil in a medium skillet set over medium high heat to roast.

The seeds will sizzle quietly, then start popping. Keep the pan moving constantly to prevent burning. Once all of the seeds are a golden color (about four minutes later), remove them from the heat and place on a plate for later.

The rest of the brittle ingredients are sugar, corn syrup, butter (unsalted) or margarine, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, and baking soda. Oh yeah, and water.

Place both sugars, the corn syrup, salt, cinnamon, and water in a two quart sauce pan set over high heat. Stir to combine and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

Once the sugar mixture reaches a boil, add the roasted pumpkin seeds and stir well. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly until a candy thermometer reaches 300 degrees (this took me about eight minutes on a gas stove, in an already warm kitchen). If you don't have a candy thermometer (why? you should get one! they're Awesome), cook the candy until a small amount dropped in cold water turns to hard, brittle threads.

Remove the mixture from the heat and immediately stir in the butter and baking soda, stirring quickly to combine it. Be careful here (Voice of Experience talking)! The butter and soda will cause the hot candy to splutter a little (but not as bad as it does when making caramel). The candy will begin to foam and expand a bit. Make sure that you fully incorporate the butter and soda before moving on.

For an extra treat, sprinkle chocolate chips over half or all of your baking sheet before pouring the brittle mixture over it. I just did a few for our candy, but you could certainly go all out with it. I recommend semisweet chips because they set very nicely.

Pour the mixture onto your baking sheet, covering as much space as possible. If you decide to add chocolate chips, be sure to pour the mixture at least an inch out all the way around them, so the melted chocolate doesn't ooze out as you spread the hot brittle (once again, Voice of Experience...listen to the Voice of Experience).

When spreading the mixture, you'll notice that it seems very foamy or bubbly, that's okay, it's supposed to look like that.

Spread the brittle as thin as you like. We like it a little thicker around here, but if you want yours thinner, just be sure to spread it quickly, as it cools very fast! Some recipes recommend sandwiching the hot brittle between two pieces of parchment, and flattening it with a rolling pin. I think that this is a great idea and would work great, especially if you want your brittle to be thinner. Just two warnings against that technique (the Voice of Experience has a lot to say about this recipe...):

1. Be very careful of hot candy pouring out of the sides of the two pieces of parchment.

2. If you live somewhere with very high humidity, the candy won't set fast enough for this method to work. Instead, spread the candy as usual, getting it as thin as you can. If you want it thinner, wait a couple of minutes for it to start setting up, then you can add the top layer of parchment and roll it.

To make your brittle look nicer, as well as making it easier to break, use a pizza wheel to cut score marks into the hot candy before it sets. Allow the candy to set up and cool completely before serving. Once cooled, break into pieces.

This brittle is so good it's spooookyyyy! Oh, geez. Did I really just do it again?! Sorry. Well, it is really, really, really good! I love the spice from the cinnamon, and using half brown sugar really adds a lovely depth to the candy. And don't even get me started on the pieces with chocolate in them. Those pieces murdered me.

Even if you're not a brittle fan, this stuff will have you coming back for more to munch on over and over again! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Seed Brittle

Makes about 1 pound

Ingredients


1 teaspoon canola oil
1 cup hulled, raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (or margarine), softened
1 teaspoon baking soda

Semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)


Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or a silpat mat.

Place the seeds and a little canola oil in a medium skillet set over medium high heat to roast. The seeds will sizzle quietly, then start popping. Keep the pan moving constantly to prevent burning. Once all of the seeds are a golden color (about four minutes later), remove them from the heat and place on a plate for later.

In a 2 quart sauce pan set over medium high heat, combine the sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, water, cinnamon, and salt and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Add the roasted pumpkin seeds and stir well. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly until a candy thermometer reaches 300 degrees. If you don't have a candy thermometer, cook the candy until a small amount dropped in cold water turns to hard, brittle threads.

Remove the mixture from the heat and immediately stir in the butter and baking soda, stirring quickly to combine it. Be careful here! The butter and soda will cause the hot candy to splutter a little and the candy will begin to foam and expand a bit. Fully incorporate the butter and soda before moving on.

Immediately pour the mixture onto your baking sheet, covering as much space as possible. If using chocolate chips, pour the mixture at least an inch out all the way around them, so the melted chocolate doesn't ooze out as you spread the hot brittle. Spread the brittle as thin as you like and score using a pizza wheel, if desired. Allow the candy to set up and cool completely before serving. Once cooled, break into pieces.

recipe by Sugarbear

Adorable and Easy to Make Monster Cupcakes for Halloween

Over the weekend, I got a chance to go to a fun Fall Festival here on St. Croix! I was super excited because, as I've mentioned before, I love the change of seasons, so it was nice to attend an event that was centered around everything that makes Fall wonderful, like pumpkin picking and candy apples!

This particular festival was a 'Bark'tober Fall Festival sponsored by the St. Croix Animal Welfare Center. The money spent on all of the various games and crafts went to benefit the center! Not only was it a fun day, but it was for a wonderful cause!

One of the fun ways to help out the Animal Welfare Center was a bake sale. Anyone interested could donate at least a dozen homemade cupcakes, decorated for the season, to be sold for three dollars a piece. A friend of mine here on island knew I'd have fun participating in the bake sale and invited me to join in. I'm so glad she did! It was a great way to get back in the kitchen after a long, sad, and exhausting last minute trip back home these past couple of weeks. I'm a huge animal lover, and there are so many absolutely adorable stray dogs here on the island. It's next to impossible for me not to bring them all home, and it's a wonderful feeling to know that I was able to help in my own small way!

For my cupcakes, I chose to do a Halloween theme: Monsters!!

I knew the cupcakes would be outside, though, so I kept them simple and stuck with basic buttercream (I had grand aspirations of making beautiful fondant puppies in their own Halloween costumes to top each cupcake, but let's be realistic, those poor puppies wouldn't have lasted long enough to show off to anyone). These little guys were super fun, and very simple, to make! They could certainly be a lot more elaborate, but the beauty of them is that they don't have to be, and they're still adorably awesome! I chose to make one of my favorite basic chocolate cake recipes, then set to decorating.

To My Friends

Due to sad and unexpected events, I am currently traveling away from my home, kitchen, and computer. Unfortunately, because of this, I will not be posting any new recipes or projects until 10/25 at the earliest. I may (if time and circumstances permit it), however, still blog about my current experiences and musings. I'm sorry I won't get to bake or cook for the next several days, I'll miss it, but your patience and understanding during this time is very greatly appreciated.

Best,

Darla (Sugarbear)

Gimme Some Sugar: A Sweet List of Tasty Links

Hi. My name is Andrea, and I’m addicted to recipes. Boy! Does it feel good to finally say that! Seriously, though, I am addicted to recipes. I have tons! I mean lots, people. I am in need of a 12-step program, I think. Well, not really, but I do love recipes! I just recently moved, and it was while I was packing my kitchen that I realized that I have a problem. I had two whole boxes simply dedicated to my cookbooks and printed out recipes!!

Now, you’re probably wondering who I am, right? Well, I’m a long distance friend of Sugarbear’s. We went to school together, and I share her love of baking and cooking. I’ve never done anything with food, professionally; I just like to cook for my friends and family, and I don’t get too many complaints for it either! I cannot create my own recipes, which is why I have so many saved in digital recipe boxes and printed out for my many 3-ring binders. Cooking and baking makes me feel good. I like to make something that tastes wonderful to give to the people I love. I have three kids who mean the world to me, and making sure they get good, home cooked food that’s not full of preservatives and things I can’t pronounce, means a lot to me. My kids tell me I’m the BEST cook, and it is one of the best compliments I’ve ever received!

I bet you want to know what I’m doing here, too, huh? Well, Sugarbear has asked me if I would like to provide you all with a few links to some of the yummy recipes that I have found and saved. I’m always on the hunt for something great to make, and I’m always posting links to things on Facebook to show my friends. Sometimes there are things that I know my friends would be interested in, and I just can’t wait to share it with them, and that’s what I get to do here for you guys!

These would make a great bread to serve with a meal of soup or chili, and have a great, festive Halloween theme, too!

Alright, so these "brownies" had a lot of my friends talking on Facebook. I just love it when that happens! The name turned a few people off, but let me assure you, this recipe is wonderful! I made these because I was trying to come up with a way to get more spinach in my, and my kids', diet, and I figured this recipe was worth a shot. My kids RAVED about them, and asked when I was going to make them again! I’m so glad I tried it!

Most of the recipes I save are not savory food. I admit that all I really want to look at is the sweet stuff! I’m too ashamed to admit how many of my saved recipes and cookbooks are actually just for sweet treats. I’ll probably never be able to make everything that I have saved, but I sure will give it my best effort!  

One of those sweet treats comes from Paula Deen. I just love to look through her website to get ideas, and these caught my eye. I’m just dying to make them, but my move has put a bit of a damper on my baking plans. They will be made soon, though...just as soon as my kids and I get to the apple orchard this week!

There’s no need for a trip to the apple orchard for this recipe, and let me tell you - it is good! Just a little tip, though, I used brown sugar in the filling when I made it. If you make this pie, don’t forget about this pie crust recipe that Sugarbear provides. It would work great for this recipe!

I can’t wait to try this recipe after the kids get done trick-or-treating this Halloween. There’s always so much candy, and this idea is a good way to use some of it up. I’ll be using the brownie recipe that Sugarbear uses as a base in these because I’ve made them before, and I love them!

Finally, I'm just throwing this one in because it looks decadent, and I want to try it very badly!

These are just a few of the recipes that I’ve been looking at recently. I hope you enjoyed them and give each one a try! I love talking about cooking with others that enjoy it as well, and I’d love to hear if you do try any of these, as well as how you liked them. I’ll be back again on occasion to share more of my addiction with you! Enjoy!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

I'm sure that everyone is aware, by now, that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. Breast cancer awareness is near and dear to my heart because I lost an unbelievably awesome aunt to the illness just a few years ago. She was brave and strong, and fought with all her heart, but lost her battle at a young age. I pray that soon, we won't have to watch our loved ones fight, and lose, against cancer any longer. That's why I'm taking today to show my support to "Save the ta-tas!"

Pink is such a wonderful color. Beautiful, sweet, and happy...how could you not like pink at least sometimes?! Especially when it's on a cupcake?! But even more so now that it stands for something so incredibly important? Pink has come to mean so much more in recent years, as men and women have embraced it to represent the fight against breast cancer. That's why I chose to dress these cupcakes up in pretty pink papers and top them with pink frosting.

The cupcakes are a delicious, sweet vanilla. They're mild and soft, with a great texture. And, because the cake is white, it can be tinted beautifully, to any color you choose. Then, there's the frosting. This frosting is so wonderful! Absolutely delicious! By far, the best vanilla frosting I've ever had, and definitely better than any I've made before! It is smooth and creamy, subtly sweet, and has a texture very similar to whipped cream, but slightly firmer. If you like the whipped frosting that some grocery stores offer on their cakes, you will want to marry this frosting!

A Sweet Froggy Tutorial for a Super Sweet Girl

I received the sweetest email a couple of weeks ago from a friend I went to high school with, Stacy.

Turns out that Stacy's 12 year old daughter, Miranda, really enjoys my blog and has fun reading it! Miranda enjoys being creative and has recently started showing an interest in cooking and baking.

This past year has been tough for Miranda and her family, so I wanted to write her a little note, and make her something special to help bring a smile to her face (and what a gorgeous smile it is)! That's why today's post is filled with adorable little frogs, they're one of Miranda's faves! 

Miranda, from everything your mom has told me about you, you're a sweet and wonderful girl! I hope you love the gift I've sent to you (hand it over, Mom!) and I hope you'll share pictures with me of all the wonderful things you make! Keep sharing your beautiful smile with the world and always do what makes you happy! I'm so proud that you like my blog, and I want to say thank you to you for inspiring me to make something new today! 

These little froggy cupcakes are for you, Miranda!

I hope you love them!

A Fun, Festive Halloween Chocolate Orange Layer Cake

I had a certain post in mind today. Something new that I'd like to see on here as a regular monthly post, but, as it often does, life got in the way and I needed to do something else for today. That's why...

...yesterday, I decided to make a cake. I knew right away what the flavors would be, and that it would be Halloween themed. I adore Halloween. Really, really! It's, by far, my favorite holiday, so I was excited to finally do something geared towards All Hallow's Eve!

Salted Caramel + Chocolate = The Amazing Vanishing Cupcake!

Well, I promised you, so here it is: yummy milk chocolate cupcakes dipped in salted caramel and topped with caramel swirled cream cheese frosting.

Since this was a last minute decision, I don't have my usual ingredient photos, but I do have a couple of helpful photos for making the caramel sauce. It's important to cook the sugar until it's the right color, because that browning of the sugar is what gives caramel it's flavor. However, in my experience, it's very, very easy to go overboard in no time at all.

Winner, Winner, Cupcake Dinner

(Seriously? How awesome would a cupcake dinner be?!)

And the winner is...

Congratulations, Sarah!! Please email me at bakingdomblog(at)gmail(dot)com with the best email address to reach you at, as well as your shipping address.

I have to say that you guys are really awesome! One of the top wishes was to buy packaging supplies so you could share your yummy treats with friends and family! That's so wonderful and I want to be friends with you all, so you'll bring some of your lovely goodies to me! ;)

You all inspired me too, because many, many, of you had decided that the first thing you would bake with your pretty new Cupcakes 101 kit was salted caramel cupcakes. Well, I couldn't stop thinking about them. I adore salted caramel and have never attempted to make it before, but what I really wanted was for it to be accompanied by chocolate. That's why, even though only one person could win the giveaway, everybody gets something, because I made some milk chocolate cupcakes dipped in salted caramel with a caramel swirled cream cheese frosting. Um hello?! Yum! Here's a sneak peek:

Stay tuned for the recipe, which I'll be posting later today!!

Happy 100th Blog Post to Me...and a Giveaway for You! [UPDATED]

Happy 100th blog post to me! I'm so excited about this little milestone! I never thought when I started this blog that I had much to offer compared to the thousands of other food bloggers out there, but I was having a lot of fun anyway. And now, 10 months later, you're still coming back, so I guess I'm doing something right, huh?

And to thank you for coming back, I have a pretty little giveaway today, but first, a treat! I wanted something celebratory for my 100th post, so I went straight up decadent!! 

I chose to make chocolate filled blackberry soufflés with soft raspberry scented whipped cream and rich chocolate ganache! Now, before I get into the details here, I should really preface this with the fact that I have not only never made a soufflé, but I've never eaten one before either! Needless to say, this was a pretty ambitious project for me. This is also my first gluten free recipe, which I'm pretty darned excited about!