nutella chip cookies.

I am not a cookie person. I cannot recall a time I gobbled up a whole can or bag of cookies.

I am more of a cake-and-icing person. I just don’t find cookies attractive… That’s just for me. Whenever I go to a coffee or pastry shop, the first thing that calls my attention would be the beautifully iced cakes and cupcakes. Cookies? Hmm, they’re rarely decorated that way.

But then, not being a fan would not stop me from baking them. I can always give them away to friends as gifts, right?

That’s exactly what I did last week. And these cookies didn’t disappoint.

I baked around 3 dozen Nutella Chip Cookies and gave them to my friends when we met up for dinner.

I liked them – they were chewy with a hint of Nutella and they baked up beautifully. I used a small cookie scoop (about 1-inch) and as they were cooling, they spread to about 3 inches.

I’ll try subbing the semisweet chocolate chips with white chocolate chips the next time I bake them.

Photo from Instagram

Nutella Chip Cookies
Adapted from Love and Olive Oil

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup Nutella
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Cream butter until smooth, about 1-2 minutes with an electric hand mixer. Add in both sugars. Beat on high speed about 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides of the bowl to ensure everything is mixed.

With the mixer on low, add the egg and vanilla. Mix for 1 minute then add Nutella and mix until combined.

Slowly add dry flour mixture and mix on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and mix just until the dough is smooth, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Fold in chocolate chips.

Using a small ice cream scoop, form the dough into balls and place on baking sheet. Bake 6-7 minutes or until set.

Let cookies cool on baking sheet, about 5 to 10 minutes and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Best served with milk.

cupcake project | 15: cinnamon churro cupcake.

I admit this blog needs a little more lovin’… and while I have been baking boatloads of stuff almost every week, I haven’t really been posting much. If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram or are a fan of my little Facebook page, your news feed might have been flooded (well, not so much really) with whatever that comes out of my tiny kitchen.

I have been on a search for the “best” chocolate frosting – something that involves little or no powdered sugar. I’ve tested a few recipes, but I still haven’t found “the one.” If you want to know what my “criteria” are… well, I really don’t know. My taste buds are looking for that familiar chocolate frosting I used to fancy when I was growing up. Hah. I found a close match, but I’m keeping my options open… (Uh, okay. This is beginning to sound so much like the search for the perfect job or partner! LOL).

While on Google last week, I chanced upon Tracey’s blog… I have bookmarked a few of her recipes in the past few months, but never had the chance to make any of them.

Last weekend was the best time to play around in the kitchen – the weather was cool due to an impending storm and I didn’t have anywhere to go.

First order of business was a small batch of Cinnamon Churro Cupcakes from Tracey.

These are cinnamon cupcakes filled with chocolate pudding and frosted with chocolate whipped cream. I skipped the chocolate pudding and used leftover chocolate frosting from an earlier experiment.

 

Cinnamon Churro Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Tracey's Culinary Adventures
(barely adapted from Love and Olive Oil)
** Halved the recipe to make 6 cupcakes.

Cinnamon Cupcakes
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1/2 tsp cider vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
3 1/2 tbsp canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp whole milk
1/2 tsp meringue powder
Pinch of cream of tartar
Pinch of cinnamon
1/2 cup cold heavy cream (I used 1/2 cup single/all-purpose cream mixed with 2 tbsp melted butter)

For the chocolate pudding recipe, check out Tracey’s post here.

To make the cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin pan with 5-6 paper liners.

Sift/dry whisk flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. In another bowl or a big measuring cup, mix together milk and vinegar. Add sugar, oil and vanilla, mix until incorporated. Pour wet ingredients over the flour mixture and whisk just until combined. Don't overmix.

Scoop batter into each muffin well and fill up to 2/3 full.

Bake cupcakes for 18-20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting:

In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients except heavy cream. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

When ready, gradually beat the heavy cream into the chocolate mixture until incorporated. Continue beating until fluffy and desired consistency is reached. Chill until ready to use. (I found the frosting a bit on the runny side - I decided to leave it in the fridge for over 6 hours and it piped beautifully.)

When frosting is ready, using an apple corer or the base of a large icing tip, poke a hole into the center of the cupcakes. Fill the hole with chocolate pudding (or in my case, chocolate frosting). Replace the top of the cakes and frost cupcakes.

* If you don't have leftover chocolate frosting, make the pudding first.
* You can also opt to make the frosting first and let it cool while baking the cupcakes.

Photo taken using Instagram. :)

These are best enjoyed with a mug of steaming tsokolate de tablea. Ooh la la. Perfect for rainy days like this!

What’s Baking

{Warning: This is a photo heavy post. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!}

I know... I have been MIA for 2 months...

I've had a lot on my plate lately, and blogging was the last thing on my mind.

It's weird, no... It's unfair to say that the last thing that I want to do is blog. When I was in college (and new to the blogging world), writing was my escape. I let my thoughts drift through the web and didn't care much about what others would say.

I write when I was bored, sad, frustrated, angry... Yes, I write better when pessimism gets the better of me. I rarely write when I'm happy.

You may be wondering, assuming that someone reads my blog (LOL), what I have been up to for the past few weeks that I've been away.

Let me tell you this - it wasn't all rainbows and butterflies. It's a mish mash of highs and lows, really. Mostly work-related, so let's not go there. ;)

I am just taking a quick break from work tasks, so  I'll let some photos do the talking.

After making Triple Chocolate Oreo Chunk Cookies, I made a batch of Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

My high school friend and a colleague from work requested for Yema Cupcakes. I experimented with a white cupcake recipe and homemade dulce de leche. I now have my own version of White Yema Cupcakes and Chocolate Yema Cupcakes.

May 11th marked the first time that I made cupcakes for a wedding. Close to 100 cupcakes in different flavors – Devil’s Food Cupcake with Cookies and Cream Frosting, Red Velvet Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream, Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge and Chocolate-Coffee Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream.

May 12th marked the first time that I made a full fondant cake! My friend requested for a fondant cake and 70 individually boxed cupcakes for the christening of her son, Cloud. I swear I almost gave up, but I’m glad I carried on. It was such a feat and I’m happy to say I came out of it alive. LOL.

I was so happy when I finally made a “stable” marshmallow frosting… But I forgot to write down the recipe… Or maybe I did, I just don’t know where I wrote it – I have more than 10 recipes for marshmallow frosting and I can never replicate the one in the photo! :(

If you happen to have a good marshmallow frosting recipe (one that’s stable, can withstand humidity and isn’t glossy/shiny), please let me know!

Trying my hand at “elegant” piping on a cake. I need more practice!

Searched for the “best” carrot cake/cupcake recipe… I think I finally nailed it. :D

Another request from a friend – Smores Cake and Cupcakes. This is heavenly. :)

 

Made my first Funfetti Cake and Cupcakes for my cousin’s 7th birthday. It’s also the first time I tried making French Buttercream and got very good results! I’m ready to tackle Swiss and Italian Meringue Buttercream. Hah!

New York Cheesecake has always been my favorite and I have never tried making it until two weeks ago. It came out perfect!

My most recent experiment – Banoffee Cupcakes. So much better than regular banana cupcakes. Really.

I’ll try to post some of the recipes soon… That is if I haven’t lost them yet!

Now… Please excuse me while I try to look for more recipes to try…