Red Velvet Cupcakes w/ Cream Cheese Frosting + V-day Playlist!

Hey my Valentines! Hope you’re having a happy love day today! This has always been one of my favorite holidays… chocolate, roses, pink & red hearts! In a relationship or not, what’s not to love about that? It’s actually a holiday that just makes me want to bake cupcakes… always been this way for some reason. When I was a teenager I would buy a strawberry cake mix & canned cream cheese frosting (Ugh, even though now cake mixes & especially canned frostings go against everything I believe in. I was young.) and cover them with lots of pretty pink sprinkles. It was my yearly Valentines tradition for a while & it made me happy.

But another cupcake flavor that always seems to make an appearance on February 14th is the southern favorite, Red Velvet! In all honesty, I’ve never been a Red Velvet fan. Most red velvet cakes tend to be dry, crumbly, and lacking in flavor. And then the traditional cooked frosting always tastes like flour to me and I’m not fond of most cream cheese frostings. If I eat red velvet it has to be exceptionally good. And I believe it’s for this reason that I’ve wanted to find the perfect red velvet recipe. Especially in the last few weeks it’s sort of became my quest.

I scoured the internet looking for recipes. I finally found one that I thought looked and sounded amazing. It was this recipe from Rosie over at Sweetapolita. I just planned to make the cake part of it & find a cream cheese frosting to go with it. First let me say, I think this girl is a freakin’ baking genius! I’ve been stalking her blog trying to learn all her baking secrets. My family & I actually made her vanilla cake for my parents vow renewal this past summer and it was one of the best cakes I’ve ever tasted.

So I tried this recipe, which calls for red velvet baking emulsion, which I’ve never used before but managed to track down. It’s the color and a flavoring all in one. The cupcakes came out super moist but the emulsion gave the them an almost citrusy flavor that I honestly couldn’t decide if I liked. So I decided to keep on looking and ended up going back to a recipe that I tried about a year ago and really liked. For some reason I had forgotten about this recipe. It’s the from a cookbook I have called “Chocolate Bar”. If you’re looking for a red velvet cake that is moist, flavorful, but still traditional, this is it! In my opinion it meets all the criteria I’m looking for in red velvet. 

Oh and the cream cheese frosting… heavenly! I scored big time when I found this recipe. But more about that below!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting -

(Recipe adapted from "Chocolate Bar" by Matt Lewis and Alison Nelson)

A traditional red velvet that is moist and flavorful! True test is that they honestly even taste good without the frosting… though you’d be crazy not to frost them with this lovely and delish cream cheese frosting.

So I haven’t stopped raving about this frosting since I made it. You HAVE to try it! And I can’t stress that enough. Some people like the traditional cooked frosting, some people like buttercream but now a days cream cheese frosting seems to be the consensus for red velvet. I don’t know about you but every cream cheese frosting I’ve ever made has turned out to be a soupy mess and tends to taste like unbaked cheesecake. This one, because it contains equal amounts of butter and cream cheese turns out fluffy, creamy, and perfectly pipable (Dear spell check, I’m aware that’s not a word but I’m using it anyway)!

And it doesn’t taste like unbaked cheesecake. It tastes like buttercream but with the slight tang of cream cheese. And it’s not toothachly sweet. Oh yes, perfect!

The frosting doesn’t over power these cupcakes but is the perfect compliment! If you’re feeling festive top them off with some sprinkles and leftover conversation hearts.

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons good quality cocoa powder
1 ounce red food coloring (1 bottle)
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 tablespoon shortening at room temp.
1 2/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons boiling water
1 tablespoon white vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar after reading somewhere that it makes them a little sweeter)
1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, red food coloring, and 2 tablespoons of boiling water. Set aside to cool.

Sift the flour and salt together. In a separate bowl, mix the buttermilk and vanilla together.

In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and shortening together on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and continue beating for approximately 5 minutes until pale and fluffy.

Add the eggs and yolk one at a time, blending well after each addition.

Mix in the cocoa, food coloring, and water mixture just until blended.

Alternately add the flour and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until just combined.

Dissolve the baking soda in the vinegar (the mixture will fizz) and add to the mixer until just combined.

At this point, though it’s not in the original recipe, I added in about 1/4 cup of mayonnaise. I know this may gross some people out but trust me, you can’t taste it whatsoever. It just makes the cupcakes even more moist. Just mix it in till well blended. 

Fill cupcake pan and bake for 16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

I’m just going to direct you to Stacy over at The Wicked Kitchen, where I found this amazing frosting. She explains why it works better than I do. Plus she has a lot of killer recipes. Best Ever Cream Cheese Frosting.

 

Valentines Playlist -

And because this holiday deserves some tunes, here’s a lovey dovey playlist for you!

 

Also wanted to share a photo of some diy Valentines decorations I made…

Just some simple felt heart and xo garlands hanging in the kitchen. Think it lights a festive air! :)

Okay sweets, hope you’re having a lovely Valentines Day!

Peppermint Bark Brownies

Hey lovelies! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! And I hope you’re not sick of Christmas desserts just yet because I have one more I want to share with you. I know, I know… it’s almost New Years but I don’t stop celebrating Christmas till January 1st. And even then I’m still holding on to every last bit that I can. So bear with me.

Now that we’ve covered Peppermint Bark… how about some Peppermint Bark Brownies, shall we? Don’t know what it is with me & peppermint lately, think I’m on some kind of kick. Pretty sure it all started with the peppermint mocha I had early this month. Now I’m obsessed.

Even though I have my staple brownie recipe I’m always on the lookout for a new one to try. This recipe combines one of my favorite desserts with one of my new favorite Christmas treats. And it really does look like peppermint bark, doesn’t it? This is the perfect holiday brownie recipe!

Peppermint Bark Brownies -

(Recipe adapted from here)

A rich and fudgy brownie infused with peppermint extract, topped with a layer of white chocolate and crushed peppermint candies.

These brownies are really easy to make and look so festive! Peppermint and chocolate are such a great combo and the white chocolate gives it an extra layer of flavor.

Really the brownie itself is just so good! It has to be one of the fudgiest brownies I’ve ever tasted. I would love to actually try it on its own without the peppermint extract at some point.

You could cut them into triangles, which I think resembles actual peppermint bark, or squares which also look lovely!

I found this delish Christmassy recipe from one of my favorite foodie blogs & cookie swap hosts, Love & Olive Oil. When it comes to decedent desserts, they never disappoint! I made these brownies for the first time last year and knew this had to be a new Christmas staple. Hope you give them a try before the season is over… or you know, you could just be a rebel and make them in January ;).

Ingredients:
2/3 cup flour
2 tablespoons dark or Dutch processed cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces semisweet baking chocolate, chopped
4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

For Topping:
6 ounces good quality white chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
3 to 4 candy canes, coarsely chopped or crushed (about 1/2 cup) (I used Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips)

Directions:

Start by pre-heating your oven to 350 degrees and lining your baking pan (a 8-by-8-inch) with parchment paper, letting some hang over the sides.

In a small bowl sift together your flour, cocoa, and salt.

Next melt your chocolate and butter in a double broiler. You can do this by setting a mixing bowl over a simmering pot of water. Stir till smooth and then remove from heat. Add the sugar and whisk until it has dissolved and the mixture is slightly cool.

Then whisk in the eggs, vanilla, and peppermint extract until just combined, making sure not to over mix. Add the flour on top of the mixture and fold it in with a rubber spatula just until incorporated. Pour mixture into the prepared baking pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. When brownies are done, allow them to cool completely.

Now time to melt the white chocolate! Which it seems like I've been talking about a lot lately. The way I do it is to melt a little bit at a time with a small amount of vegetable oil in the microwave, at 10 to 15 second increments. This method has changed my baking life, let me tell ya!

When brownies have cooled completely, pour your white chocolate over your brownies and smooth it out with an off set spatula. Next sprinkle your peppermint candies on top. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes or over night (for some reason they really are at their best the next day).

After chilled, using the sides of the parchment paper, lift brownies from the pan. Cut them into squares and then diagonally in half into triangles. Brownies will keep in the refrigerator (covered) for up to 5 days.

Iced Lemon Pound Cake & a Spring Playlist

Hey foodies! Everytime spring and summer roll around I all of the sudden crave all things lemon… I don’t know why. Especially me as the self professed chocoholic that I am, now that the season has changed and the flowers are in bloom again, want to bake all things lemon. My tastes in food and music seem to change with the seasons. So in honor of spring and the soon to come summer, I have a lovely lemony pound cake recipe for you guys today as well as a spring playlist!

This is a copycat recipe of Starbucks’ ever so popular Iced Lemon Pound Cake. Honestly I usually opt for the brownie myself when I venture to Sbucks but my parents have always been a fan of the lemon pound cake. But in my humble opinion, this one’s better.

So push play on the happy spring tunes below the recipe and get to baking! :)

Iced Lemon Pound Cake -

(Recipe found @ http://picky-palate.com)

The first thing you notice about this cake is that not ten minutes after putting it in the oven your house starts to fill up with the most delish scent! It’s like aromatherapy in cake form.

This cake is super moist with the perfect tangy lemon flavor. And the lemony glaze running down the sides of the cake makes it even better!

This recipe makes enough batter for either one bundt cake or two loaves (below). It turns out lovely either way. This is the second time I’ve made this cake and it’s safe to say that it’s become a staple. Plus, it’s a really simple one bowl recipe, gotta love that! I hope you give it a try! :)

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix

4.3 ounce instant or cook and serve Lemon pudding mix

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

8 ounces sour cream

6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Icing:

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3-4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray 2 loaf pans generously with cooking spray.

Place all cake ingredients in no particular order into stand or electric mixer, beating until well combined, about 1 1/2 minutes. Divide cake batter between two prepared loaf pans spreading evenly. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove and let cool for 15 minutes before removing loaves from pans.

To prepare icing, place powdered sugar into a large bowl. Drizzle in lemon juice stirring until smooth and thick. Should be a good drizzling consistency. Drizzle icing over cakes and let set for 20 minutes for a firm icing. Otherwise slice while still wet if desired.

Makes about 24 slices.

Spring Playlist -

Snickers Cupcakes

If there’s anything that can make chocolate cupcakes even better … it’s definitely a Snickers Bar. I made these Snickers cupcakes for my cousin’s baby shower last month and I’ve been meaning to post this recipe.

This being her first baby, to say that we were all super excited would be an understatement. So planning for this shower started early. We knew there had to be cupcakes involved, they were just simply mandatory, but we weren’t sure what kind. We looked at several different recipes but finally landed on testing out a recipe we found for Snickers Cupcakes. Unfortunately, we were less than thrilled with the results. But it sort of became my mission to get these right … therefore I admittedly went a little nuts and tried out two more recipes lol. I mean this girl is not just my cousin she’s like my sister, it was important to me to get these right. But the good news is after combining a few different recipes, I got it! :D

I was so happy with how they turned out! My cousin said she loved them and everyone at the shower seemed to really enjoy them as well, which made all the recipe testing totally worth it! It was actually one of many delish treats at the shower, which was so lovely by the way!

And just a couple weeks later, her beautiful baby boy was born almost a month early. It was so special to see and hold him. It seems like just yesterday that my cousin and I were playing dolls and now she has a baby! Crazy! We’ve been through so much together and have so many good memories with each other. From Barbie's, Saved By The Bell, *Nsync, road trips, and lots & lots of concerts to weddings, and now babies! Okay, now I’m getting too emotional lol. So I’ll spare you the water works and just give you the cupcakes! ;)

Snickers Cupcakes -

(Recipe adapted from http://www.annies-eats.com/)

Moist chocolaty cupcakes, fluffy caramel frosting, and Snickers…needless to say these are a little rich but very delish!

I used Hershey’s chocolate cake recipe, which is my old stand by, you just can’t go wrong with it. I also added in a little coffee & melted Ghirardelli chocolate. The filling is chopped up Snickers coated in caramel topping. They’re topped off with Salted Caramel frosting, more chopped Snickers, and caramel topping.

These cupcakes are so easy to make. And let me just say this is the best Salted Caramel frosting I’ve tried so far. It complements the chocolate cupcakes perfectly!

With bits of Snickers inside as well as on top, this will make any Snickers fan a happy camper! Hope you give ‘em a shot! :)

Cupcakes -

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa or HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of electric mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into lined cupcake pan.

Bake 16-18 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to cool completely.

Filling -

Ingredients:

24 fun-size Snicker bars, chopped

1/3 – 1/2 cup store bought caramel topping

Directions:

Combine chopped Snickers bars in a bowl with the caramel topping and mix to coat.

Salted Caramel Frosting -

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter

2 cups powdered sugar

15-20 caramels

2 tbsp. heavy cream

Kosher salt

Directions:

In a small bowl, melt caramels with the heavy cream. You an pop it in the microwave for 30 second increments till smooth. Allow a few minuets in the fridge to cool.

In a large bowl, whip the butter for 20 seconds of medium high speed until fluffy. Add in one cup powdered sugar and mix until combined. Once the caramel is completely cool to touch, drizzle into frosting and beat on medium speed until well incorporated.

Then add in the second cup of powdered sugar and the salt (1/4 tsp. – 1/2 tsp.). Beat 3-4 minutes or until fluffy.

Garnish:

8 fin-size Snickers bars, chopped

Caramel topping

Assembly - 

After cupcakes are completely cool, use a knife (I use my cupcake corer) to hollow out out the center of each cupcake. Fill each cupcake with a spoonful of the filling mixture. Spread or pipe on caramel frosting. Garnish with chopped Snickers and drizzle with caramel topping. Then devour! :)

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes & a Playlist!

Hey friends! Stopping in today with a sweet treat for your tummy and some sweet tunes for your ears!

Hope y’all had a lovely Valentines day! Mine was spent cooking up a meal for my family, Stuffed Chicken Marsala (which is pretty much the best thing in the world, let me tell ya! Will share recipe soon!) and baking chocolate raspberry cupcakes! Whatever your opinion of Valentines Day is it’s definitely a great excuse to bake something yummy and evil, no? Well that’s my philosophy anyway! :D

I got the idea for these cupcakes the night before and thought they’d make the perfect Valentines treat. Plus, I wanted an excuse to use my cute V-day cupcake liners. I made chocolate cupcakes, using Hershey’s recipe because in my opinion, you just can’t beat it, made some raspberry whipped cream to fill them, and fluffy pink buttercream frosting to top them off. They were so delish, if I do say so myself! I mean you just can’t go wrong with the chocolate & raspberry combo, a match made in heaven.

I also got a little fancy schmancy thanks to Pinterest and tried my hand at making little chocolate hearts and “xo’s” for decorations. They were seriously so easy and fun to make. Will definitely be doing more of this in the future. Hope you give these babies a try!

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes -

This raspberry whipped cream is so light and fluffy! You could use store bought whipped cream and fold in the raspberry juice if you want but really there’s just nothing like homemade whipped cream. Plus it takes hardly anytime at all, it’s definitely worth it! Could seriously eat this by the spoonful! 

Cupcakes -

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa or HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of electric mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into lined cupcake pan.

Bake 16-18 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to cool completely.

Raspberry Whipped Cream Filling -

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 small pkg. frozen raspberries (thawed)

Directions:

Place the powdered sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the cream and vanilla. Using a metal whisk or an electric hand mixer, whisk the cream just until stiff peaks begin to form. Fold in juice from raspberries. I wasn’t exact on the measurements here, I just added in enough juice to where it had the raspberry taste and color I wanted. You could add the raspberries as well but I just opted to use the juice. Makes two cups.

Buttercream Frosting -

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter (room temp.)

2 cups powdered sugar

1-2 tbsp. heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla

a few drops red food coloring (optional)

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, beat unsalted butter till fluffy. Add in powdered sugar, beating one cup at a time till well incorporated. Add heavy cream and vanilla. Beat for 3-4 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add in food coloring if desired.

 Assembly: After cupcakes have cooled, scoop out the center and fill with raspberry whipped cream filling. I use one of those cupcake corers and I really love it,  works great. Spread or pipe on buttercream frosting. Decorate with sprinkles and chocolate decorations, if desired.

The chocolate hearts and “xo” were really simple to make. It was my first time trying it so they’re not perfect but I think they turned pretty well considering. You just pipe melted chocolate chips onto wax paper in whatever shape you want. Let it harden, peel off wax paper, and they’re ready to use! If you want more info about how to do this click here.

And since I simply can’t bake without having some great tunes to dance around the kitchen to, thought I’d share a little playlist with y’all! These are songs that I’ve been loving and listening to constantly lately. Some new (or new to me) favorites such as Leagues, Family of the Year, & Haim to old favorites such as Jenny Lewis, Goldfrapp, & The Verve. And a song that I just discovered and have become addicted to, “The Zookeeper’s Boy” by Mew. How in the world am I just barely hearing this song?!  Why did no one ever share this with me? So wrong. It’s all kinds of awesome!

Anyway, hope you enjoy these songs! Would love to know what’s been on your playlist lately! :)

Holiday Desserts – Tiramisu

My first foray into Tiramisu making was a few years ago on Christmas Eve when my sister and I decided to take on this lovely dessert. It had become a favorite of ours and was the only dessert we would order anytime we ate at Olive Garden. And well, we were audacious baker’s and thought if Olive Garden could make delish Tiramisu so could we… yeah, not so much. Oh how naive we were! Let’s just say it didn’t quite turn out like theirs. Though they have access to all the right ingredients… we did not (yep, that’s my story & I’m sticking to it. ;))

I would say that the espresso is one of the most important ingredients in Tiramisu, wouldn’t you agree? Well we did not have any espresso nor any way of making espresso. So we did the only thing we could think to do at 6:00 pm on Christmas Eve … we went to Sonic &, much to the utter confusion of the car hop, ordered like 7 or more shots of espresso. Yes, we used Sonic espresso in our Tiramisu. There’s a dirty little secret for ya!

We also accidentally bought chocolate mascarpone cheese and used the spongy type ladyfingers that got soggy & fell apart the second they touched the espresso. Thus the espresso leaked out into the pan and made the whole thing a soggy mess. Needless to say, after that we decided to leave the Tiramisu making up to the experts.

I did however make a Tiramisu Trifle last year and while it was good you just can’t beat the real thing. So a few months ago while out grocery shopping I serendipitously stumbled upon the right kind of lady fingers I needed for Tiramisu and decided on a whim that it was time. I actually ended up using the recipe on the back of the lady fingers (Alessi Savoiardi Cookies) and it turned out so beyond amazing!! Just as good if not better than Olive Garden’s, in my opinion. Yes, it was a Tiramisu to be proud of!

Tiramisu -

This dessert may take a little more time and effort than others but it’s totally worth it! And yes, it may seem just a bit intimidating but as long as you follow the directions and have the right ingredients you should be just fine.

The Zabaglione Cream (I always feel so Italian when I say that, so Giada De Laurentiis, if you will) is the base for our filling and starts by cooking egg yolks in a double broiler. Combining this with the mascarpone cheese and egg whites whipped until stiff peaks is what makes for the amazingly rich and creamy filling.

We then make our espresso and line the lady fingers in a pan. And instead of dunking each lady finger into the espresso mixture, which could cause them to fall apart (a major problem for me last time), you just pour a tbsp. full on each lady finger. Then it’s the easy part, as you just layer and then dust with cocoa powder or shave on chocolate curls (or both). Refrigerate and voila, a luscious and fancy dessert!

Lady fingers soaked with espresso, creamy mascarpone cheese filling with a light dusting of cocoa powder on top? Yes, please! It’s an elegant dessert that would be perfect for this time of year… or any time of the year for that matter. :)

Ingredients:
Zabaglione Cream -
5 large egg yolks, from large grade eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup marsala
1 cup whipping cream, chilled
4 tablespoons sugar
1 lb. mascarpone cheese
2 cups freshly brewed espresso or 2 cups strong coffee
1/2 cup brandy or 1/2 cup marsala
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 (14 ounce) packages Alessi Savoiardi cookies
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
chocolate curls or fresh edible flower (to garnish) (optional)

Directions:
Zabaglione Cream: In the top part of a double boiler, beat eggs and sugar together until the mixture is pale yellow in color.

In the bottom part of the double boiler, bring water to a boil then reduce heat to simmer. Place egg yolk mixture over water and gradually add Marsala, beating continuously. Scrape bottom and sides of pan occasionally and cook 6 to 10 minutes or until soft mounds can be formed. Transfer to bowl, cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Whip cream with 2 Tbsp. sugar until soft peaks form. Fold in Mascarpone and Zabaglione and mix until well blended. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

In a separate bowl, mix espresso, 2 Tbsp. sugar, Marsala and vanilla. Arrange cookies on the bottom of a 9" by 13" pan. Carefully spoon about 1 Tbsp. of the coffee mixture over each cookie so they are well saturated but not falling apart. Spoon 1/2 cheese mixture over cookies and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. cocoa. Repeat one more time ending with cocoa.

Cover and refrigerate at least 5 hours or overnight so that cookies can soften as they absorb moisture. Garnish and serve. (Serves 12)

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's no secret that one of my weaknesses is chocolate chip cookies; I even shared my favorite recipe on my e-zine, The Waking, here. It's the most commonly whipped up on a whim treat in my home. In fact, I could probably throw them together with my eyes closed (I know it goes to show just how much I've made them...don't judge me! ;)) But I recently discovered a recipe that takes chocolate chip cookies to a whole new level...I woke up to the wonder that is brown butter. I had read all about putting brown butter in recipes but had never tried it before... now I have this crazy urge to put it in everything! With its nutty, caramel like flavor the sky's the limit really. :)

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies -

(Recipe found @ http://inthelittleredhouse.blogspot.com)

I found this recipe for Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies from one of my favorite bloggers, Sheena Jibson, of The Little Red House (which you should check out by the way, it's all kinds of awesome). She has made several things with brown butter and her amazing photos are always so tempting, so when I saw these cookies I knew I had to give 'em a shot. It's a pretty basic cookie recipe except for browning the butter, which is very easy.

All you do is melt butter in a skillet and stir until it starts to foam up. Then after the foam subsides, is when the magic begins as you will start to see little brown flecks appear in the bottom of the skillet. You continue to cook until it reaches a brown caramel color with a nutty aroma. After you let it harden in the fridge for a little while it is ready for use! I wasn't sure how it was going to affect the taste of the cookies, but it gave them such a delish caramel, toffee like taste. I couldn't believe how much it jazzed up the flavor!

This is officially my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and will definitely be the go to from now on. Hope you'll give 'em a try!

2 sticks of butter (1c), at room temp
1/2 c white sugar
1 3/4 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 lb chocolate chips/chunks
1 cup chopped pecans

To brown butter:
Heat pan on medium heat. Cut butter in to pieces and melt in pan. Stir continuously. Butter will foam up. After foam subsides, small brown flecks will start to appear in bottom of pan. Continue stirring, until butter has reached a nice brown color, and nutty aroma. Turn the heat all the way down. Pour into a bowl and and refrigerate until solid again.

Cream the (solid) brown butter and the sugars until mixed well. Scrape down the side of the bowl. Continue mixing while adding the eggs one at time. Make sure each egg is incorporated before adding the next. Add the vanilla. Mix well for a few minutes until batter it light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Combine the flour, soda and salt in another bowl. With a whisk, stir to combine. With the machine on low, slowly add the flour. Mix until just combined, taking care not to over mix. With a spatula fold in the chocolate and pecans.

Drop by spoonful onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 11-13 minutes. They should be lightly golden on the outside but still look gooey on the inside.