Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! We are celebrating at my house with Homemade Marshmallows and Hot Cross Buns!


Enjoy the rest of your Egg Day!! ;D

Brownie Roll-Out Cookies for Easter

Usually, I really dislike decorated sugar cookies. It takes soooooooo long to make them and only 10 seconds to devour them. So when I made some for Valentine's Day last month, I went ahead and cut out some Easter shapes and stuck them in the freezer. Yesterday, I baked them and decorated them in under 2 hours. Two thumbs up for planning ahead! It still only took 10 seconds to make them disappear, but at least the dog didn't eat them this time!
The cookie recipe can be found here on the Valentine's Day cookie post. The royal icing recipe is here from last year's Easter cookies, as well as more designs and a handy link to a decorating tutorial!

Brownie Roll-Out Cookies
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Whisk dry flour, salt and baking powder in bowl and set aside. Mix butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cocoa in mixer. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.

Roll out cookie dough on floured counter. (I rolled mine between two sheets of plastic wrap. It was buttery enough that it didn't need any flour to keep it from sticking.) Cut into desired shapes, brushing extra deposits of flour off the top. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 8 to 11 minutes (the former for 1/8-inch thick cookies, the latter for 1/4-inch cookies) until the edges are firm and the centers are slightly soft and puffed. (My cookies were 1/4-inch thick and they only needed 9 minutes in the oven.)

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Hot Cross Buns

Whoa! It's been a while, hasn't it? Excuse me while I blow the dust off my blog! Well, hello, I'm back! I was out of town for the Easter weekend, and then I took a few days to get myself back together (and to start a new blog!). And now I'm here, blogging for your enjoyment! Let me tell you about these hot cross buns... If you've never had them (or even heard of them) they are a traditional Easter treat. I'm not really sure why, but you can click here if you care to investigate. I had never made them before, but I wanted to start a new family tradition by making them for everyone on Easter morning. I didn't want to lug my million pound mixer on a 4 hour road trip. So I made the dough Thursday and froze it before the second proofing. I was extremely worried that the dough wouldn't survive the trip in the cooler. But it survived! Saturday night I took it out of the freezer and left it in the fridge to thaw overnight. Sunday morning, I sat it on the counter for an hour to finish proofing. When the buns were ready, I cut the X's, brushed them with egg wash, and threw them into the oven! 25 minutes later, things were smelling goooood! Instead of the plain powdered sugar glaze, I made a cream cheese glaze. They were so good! Everyone loved them... if you scroll down you'll see the proof! ;D I'm going to compare them to cinnamon rolls. They had that soft, chewy texture and a fabulous cinnamon-y, yeasty flavor. I'll definitely be making these more often than Easter!

Proofing on Sunday morning! Of course my family wouldn't settle a tiny 'X' of frosting...
I had to smother them! YUM!! How about some feedback...


WE LOVE THEM!!

HOT CROSS BUNS (from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book)
MAKES 12 buns
"These buns are traditional for Easter; however, they taste good all year round. To prevent the icing from being too thick, drizzle it over the buns while they are still warm."

BUNS
3/4 cup buttermilk, warm (110 degrees)
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 large eggs
4 1/4 cups (21 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) sugar
1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup (3 3/4 ounces) currants or raisins
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water
GLAZE
3/4 cup (3 ounces) confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ounces cream cheese, softened (my own addition)

1. FOR THE BUNS: Whisk the buttermilk, melted butter, and eggs together in a large liquid measuring cup. Combine 4 cups of the flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and cinnamon in a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook. With the mixer on low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and mix until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes.

2. Increase the mixer speed to medium and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If after 5 minutes, more flour is needed, add the remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough clears the side of the bowl but sticks to the bottom.

3. Turn the dough out onto a clean counter, add the currants, and knead by hand to form a smooth round ball with evenly distributed currants. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

4. Grease a 13x9-inch baking pan. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter; divide it into 12 even pieces (If you have a scale, now is a great time to use it!). Round the pieces of dough into small, taut rolls. Arrange the rolls in the prepared baking pan and wrap tightly with greased plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until the rolls have nearly doubled in size and are pressed against one another, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

5. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a sharp knife, cut an X through the top 1/4 inch of each bun. Whisk the egg and water together and brush over the buns. Bake until golden and puffed, 25 to 30 minutes.

6. FOR THE GLAZE: Let the rolls cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Whisk the confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla together then drizzle it in an X into the cut grooves of the buns. (I just spread the glaze over them like cinnamon rolls!) Serve warm or let cool completely.

To Make Ahead
In step 4, do not let the buns rise, but refrigerate them overnight or up to 16 hours. (I froze mine for 2 days and then left them in the fridge overnight to thaw.) Let the buns sit at room temperature until they have nearly doubled in size, about 1 hour, then bake as directed.

Milk Chocolate Malt Ball Cupcakes

Those "Baked" boys have done it again! Of course I'm referring to Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, authors of Baked: New Frontiers in Baking. This is the second recipe I've tried from this awesome book, and it's just as fabulous as the first one! If you don't remember, I made their Red Hot Velvet Cake in cupcake form a few months ago, and it became my new favorite red velvet recipe! I don't know how often I'll need a go-to recipe for Malt Ball Cake, but this one is definitely it! The cake itself is so soft, it nearly falls apart in your hands. Some of the cupcake wrappers were even coming loose from the cake! Now, usually I'd see that as a bad thing. But since these cupcakes are so freakin good, WHO CARES IF THE WRAPPER IS FALLING OFF?? It's just giving you a head start! ;D Let's talk about this frosting. At first I was nervous, because I've never had good results when ganache is involved in the frosting recipe. And I did have to do things a little differently than the book said in order to get my frosting to a good constistency. But once it was there, it was heaven! My dad says it's so light, you almost don't feel it when you're biting into the cupcake! And it's so chocolatey! You don't even need to scroll to the bottom of this post to know that these cupcakes get a 5 out of 5 all the way across the board!

PS: In case you didn't notice, these cupcakes came in dead last in the poll. The whole time I was making them, I was in fear of being drug (dragged? drug?) out in the street and stoned by you guys for breaking my own poll rules. I hope you trust me that they were WAY worth the rule-breaking! ;) Don't worry though, you'll see the actual winning cupcakes sometime soon. I pinky promise!



Oh I guess you wanna know how I made those little Easter egg nests on top, don't you?? There's really no recipe, but I can give you the general idea. I toasted about 1/2 cup shredded coconut and let it cool. Then I melted umm... maybe 1 cup of guittard dark chocolate apeels? Maybe more? I'm not entirely sure, it was just the last I had and I didn't measure. Then carefully stir the toasted coconut into the chocolate, making sure not to break it up too badly. Spoon it onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Press a few malt ball eggs into the "nests." Pop the sheet into the freezer for a few minutes to harden the chocolate. And TADA! Do whatever you want with them! :D

MILK CHOCOLATE MALT BALL CAKE (halved from Baked; original quantities in gray yield 3 8-inch cake layers or approximately 32 cupcakes)
Makes 16 cupcakes
“You can find Carnation brand malted milk powder in most local grocery stores, or you can substitute malt Ovaltine.”

FOR THE MALT CAKE LAYERS
1 cup + 2 tablespoons cake flour (2 1/4 cups)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (3/4 cup)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (1 tablespoon)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (1 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon salt (3/4 teaspoon)
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (1/4 teaspoon)
1/2 cup malted milk powder (1 cup)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup vegetable shortening (1/2 cup)
1 cup sugar (2 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla (1 tablespoon)
1 cup ice cold water (2 cups)
2 egg whites (4)

FOR THE MILK CHOCOLATE FROSTING
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (8 ounces)
4 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped (8 ounces)
3/4 cup heavy cream (1 1/2 cups)
1 tablespoon light corn syrup (2 tablespoons)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into 1-inch pieces (1 1/2 cups [3 sticks])

MAKE THE MALT CAKE LAYERS (or cupcakes!)
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and butter the parchment. Dust with flour, and knock out the excess flour. (For cupcakes, line your muffin pans with paper liners, duh silly!)
Sift the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg together into a large bowl. whisk in the malted milk powder. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening on medium speed until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the ice water, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the bowl, then mix on low speed for a few more seconds.
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Do not overbeat. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
Divide the batter among the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes (or 18-20 minutes for cupcakes), rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Transfer the cakes to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the rack, remove the pans, and let cool completely. Remove the parchment.

MAKE THE MILK CHOCOLATE FROSTING
Place both chocolates in the bowl of an electric mixer. In a small saucepan, bring the cream and corn syrup to a boil, then remove from the heat and immediately pour the mixture over the chocolate. Let stand for 2 to 3 minutes. Starting in the center of the bowl and working your way out to the edges, whisk the chocolate mixture until completely smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
With the electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, on medium speed gradually add the butter pieces and mix until thoroughly incorporated. The frosting should be completely smooth and have a silky look.

ASSEMBLE THE CAKE
Refrigerate the frosting for a few minutes (but no more), until it can hold its shape. (Here’s a helpful tip from yours truly: Chill the frosting until it feels cool to the touch, about 10 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high until the frosting lightens in color, about 10-20 seconds. This is makes the frosting a lot easier to spread than the way they suggest making it!) Place one cake layer on a serving platter. Trim the top to create a flat surface and evenly spread about 1 1/4 cups of the frosting on top. Top with the next layer, trim and frost the top, then add the third layer and trim. Crumb coat the cake and put the cake in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up the frosting. Frost the sides and top with the remaining frosting. Garnish the cake with the malted milk balls and refrigerate again for 15 minutes.

This cake will keep beautifully in a cake saver at room temperature (cool and humidity free) for up to 3 days. If your room is not cool, place the cake in a cake saver and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving.

Easter Sugar Cookies

UPDATE: Here's an awesome tutorial via Annie's Eats to show you how to decorate with royal icing!

Finally I get something posted BEFORE the holiday it pertains to! I'm such a procrastinator. I'm lucky if I get things posted ON the actual holiday, much less before it! For bloggers like me, it's particularly important to get special holiday posts up before the holiday. That way our readers can use the information we post as a guide for their holiday baking. So here are the sugar cookies I decorated for Easter. Feel free to use these designs on your own sugar cookies. I got my inspiration from Flickr user ktrammell.

For all cookies I used either a #1 or #2 round tip, depending on how thin the icing was and the precision of the detail I was trying to draw. For basic outlines with thick icing, I used a #2 tip. For precise details with thick icing, I used a #1 tip. For filling in outlines with thin icing, I used a #1 tip (when I tried using the #2 tip with thin icing, it would constantly drip out of the tip).

For the Hatching Chick: (my favorite!)
1) Using thick white royal icing (#2 tip), outline the shape of the eggshell. Let it dry for 10 minutes.
2) Using thick dark yellow royal icing (#2 tip), outline the shape of the chick. Let it dry for 15 minutes.
3) Using thin teal royal icing (#1 tip), fill in the shape of the eggshell. Drop sprinkles onto the wet icing. Let it dry for 15 minutes.
4) Using thin light yellow royal icing (#1 tip), fill in the shape of the chick. Let it dry for 15 minutes.
5) Using thick white, orange, and dark yellow royal icing (#1 tip), draw the details of the face. Let the finished cookie dry overnight.

For the "Hopping" Bunny:
1) Using thick white royal icing (#2 tip), outline the shape of the bunny. Let it dry for 10 minutes.
2) Using the same icing and tip, fill in a round bunny tail. Drop white nonpareils onto the wet icing. Let it dry for 10 minutes.
3) Using thin royal icing of any color (#1 tip), fill in the shape of the bunny. Let it dry for 15 minutes.
4) Using thick royal icing of any color (#1 tip), draw the details of the face. Let the finished cookie dry overnight.

For the Bunny Face:
1) Using thick pink royal icing (#2 tip), outline the shape of the bunny face. Let it dry for 10 minutes.
2) Using thin white royal icing (#1 tip), fill in the shape of the bunny face. Let it dry for 15 minutes.
3) Using thick pink, light pink, and light teal royal icing (#1 tip), draw the details of the face. Let the finished cookie dry overnight.

For the Flower:
1) Using thick royal icing of any color (#2 tip), outline the shape and center of the flower. Let it dry for 10 minutes.
2) Using thin yellow royal icing (#1 tip), fill in the center of the flower. Let it dry for 10 minutes.
3) Using thin royal icing in a darker or lighter shade than the outline (#1 tip), fill in the shape of the flower. Let it dry for 15 minutes.
4) Using thick royal icing of any color (#1 tip), draw a spiral or any detail in the center. Let the finished cookie dry overnight.

For the Tulip:
1) Using thick royal icing of any color (#2 tip), outline the shape of the tulip and draw the lines of the petals. Let it dry for 10 minutes.
2) Using thin royal icing in a darker or lighter shade (#1 tip), fill in the outlines. Let it dry for 10 minutes.
3) Using thick green royal icing (#1 tip), draw and fill in the stem. Let the finished cookie dry overnight.
As always, I used my favorite sugar cookie recipe (from Allrecipes.com) and the royal icing recipe from Confetti Cakes for Kids by Elisa Strauss.

"The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies" from Allrecipes.com (scaled down)
Makes 50-60 cookies 1/4"-thick cookies

2 sticks + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla (I always bump it up to 1 teaspoon)
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (This time I had to substitute self-rising flour by omitting the baking powder and salt. It resulted in a puffier cookie, but still delicious!)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least an hour (or overnight). (I split my dough in half, and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. It takes mine about 3 hours before it's hard enough to roll out.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until barely golden around the edges. Cool on wire rack. (I've found that the kitchen stays organized if you do all the rolling and cutting before you start baking. Cut out the shapes and place them close together on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Make sure the pan is small enough to fit into your refrigerator or freezer. You can layer the cookies on sheets of wax paper and keep them all on the same pan in the fridge until you're ready to start baking. Then line the pans you're going to bake the cookies on with parchment paper. Place them 1 inch apart and bake according to the original directions. You might have to add 1 or 2 minutes to the baking time because the cookies are coming straight from the fridge or freezer. This process really makes things less hectic in the kitchen during baking!)

Royal Icing (from Confetti Cakes for Kids by Elisa Strauss)

1/3 cup (3 oz) pasteurized egg whites (about 3 egg whites)
4 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (I use almond and vanilla extracts)

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Set the mixer to medium-low speed and gradually add the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Scrap thoroughly between additions. Add the lemon juice and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form and the icing is no longer shiny, 6-8 minutes (mine stays somewhat shiny). Use immediately or place in an airtight container. You can keep the icing in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Allow it to come to room temperature before using it. (I always add about 2 teaspoons of water to this before I use it. To thin it out even more, add 1/2 teaspoon of water at a time until it's the constistency you want. It takes some practice, but you'll get used to figuring out what constistency you need.)

Easter Carrot Cupcakes

They're late! I know! But they're also delicious, so make them anyways! Low-fat carrot cupcakes with not-so-low-fat cream cheese frosting...

Decorated with green coconut and malted eggs!Aren't they cute?

Recipe from Crazy About Cupcakes by Krystina Castella.

Low-Fat Carrot Cupcakes
Makes about 16

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (I left this out because I didn't have any)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup low-fat milk
One 8-ounce can crushed pineapple
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1/4 cup brown sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.
2. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in a large bowl. Mix well.
3. In a separate bowl combine the remaining ingredients. Stir until combined.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir to blend.
5. Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes (Mine were done at 16!) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes. Finish cooling on a wire rack.

*Top with your favorite cream cheese frosting recipe, or click the link for cream cheese frosting in the drop-down list on the left side of the blog!

Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 5
Tenderness: 3 (dense)
Frosting: 5