Portillo’s Chocolate Eclair Cake

Today I’m bringing you something so simple a child could do it. Literally guys, if you have kids get them in the kitchen to do this with you. Its very straight forward, no bake, no huge mess, nothing to worry about. Keep on reading to get the scoop (or shall I say slice)!

Peppermint Twist Cookies

I apologize for my absence. It has been a very long and trying couple of weeks. My Grandmother had a stroke two days after my last post and I lost her on Friday. Needless to say I have been very busy with my family and trying to keep everything in order as best as possible. I will probably be absent again over the next week as we make final arrangements and host a wake and funeral. Once again I apologize, the timing of this could not be worse. I’ve made it a miniature mission to help everyone prepare for the Holidays and the endless family gatherings and parties that ensue. I had mentioned about a month ago that I got a book full of holiday cookie recipes. Today I’m going to share my favorite. The Peppermint Twist Cookie.

Baking with Soda!

I will be forever in debt to the person who figured out you can bake with soda. My early first attempts (making a rainbow caking using diet sprite with friends) were horrible. They tasted pretty bad, they looked even worse. Using soda to make a cake mix is tricky business. Its not as simple as following package directions. You need to know what works and what doesn’t. Most of the time they don’t set right and they almost always stick to the wrapper, even if you use the more expensive parchment wraps. This doesn’t mean they aren’t delicious when prepared the right way, it just means they take a little more effort. The other day I made two types of soda cupcakes and today we’re going to take a look at what needs to be done.

Better Than Sex Cake?

Yesterday I made my fiance his belated birthday cake. His actual birthday was last Friday, but I didn’t have the energy or the time to make a cake for him that day. We had a nice family breakfast, enjoyed one another’s company, played with the kids, and went out to the bar for some karaoke and drinks with friends. Where in there was I supposed to make a cake? I was going to make it over the weekend but we both got sick, effectively destroying our plans for our fancy pants party on Michigan Avenue and then a bonfire in the boonies with a few friends. By Monday we were both feeling fine and back to our normal schedules, I even made breakfast again.

Cheesecake Cupcakes

First off let me apologize for my absence, its been a super crazy couple of days around here. Now that we have that out of the way I bring you one of the first recipes I ever reworked. I am not an extraordinarily health conscious person, hell, I think I drink a 12 pack of soda a day on my own. I am, however, mindful when it comes to nutrition. Occasionally I throw the idea of being healthy to the wind and over indulge, but I try my best to ensure that only occurs on holidays.

I love a good cheesecake. I love refrigerator cheesecakes, I love baked cheesecakes, plain, chocolate … I love them all. The problem with making a cheesecake is that if I make one I’ll eat one. I mean I will literally eat the entire thing. The solution is to make mini cheesecakes, or cheesecake cupcakes. I’ll post a link to the original recipe at the bottom.

Cheesecake Cupcakes

2 pkg (8 oz) lite cream cheese

2 eggs

1/4 cup sugar substitute 

1 tsp vanilla 

Mix all ingredients together, beat until smooth. Its easiest to do one brick of cream cheese and one egg at a time so you don’t cement your mixer.

Fill cupcake tins either 1/2 full to make 24 cupcakes or 2/3 full to make 12

Bake at 350 for approximately 17 minutes until tops are lightly golden and cupcakes have set. Cool in muffin tin for 5 minutes then transfer to cooling rack and cool completely. Store in the refrigerator. 

The recipe as it was had 456 calories for the 12 serving size. This  recipe has 112 for the 12 serving sized cheesecakes. While it isn’t all about calories, there are a lot of other factors, most people tend to count calories more than anything else. These are delicious, and are great plain or topped with any sort of fresh fruit topping.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,196,147191-227192,00.html <– original recipe  

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem…

I don’t have a gambling problem. I am, however, a compulsive over-baker. I can’t help myself. If there’s butter in my house (and there is always butter in my house) I feel the need to bake. Yesterday was no different, with the exception that I cleaned, gutted, and reorganized my kitchen first. That’s not finished yet, when it is I’ll be sharing the details. After I got as much kitchen cleaning as I could stomach done, I realized I had enough counter space to start baking, and start baking I did.

There Is Absolutely No Problem With …

… Taking shortcuts! There’s nothing wrong with it, trust me. I have been cooking and baking for years, and in that time I’ve learned quite a few things. I used to refuse to do things like buy a boxed cake mix, I even refused to buy pudding and would make my own from scratch instead, which is delicious by the way. Next time I make home made pudding I’ll post it. While it is fine and wonderful to make your own EVERYTHING, it is completely unnecessary. The pound cake recipe I posted a few days ago is delicious, but if I use a particular brand of box mix pound cake no one can tell the difference between them. Since when I make chocolate chip cookies I usually use the recipe on the back of the bag of chocolate chips, no one will ever know if I buy break and bake. My Grandmother would disown me and die if she heard me saying this, but its not always worth it to make everything from scratch.

Not Just For PB&J

Both of my parents worked when I was growing up. My dad was the head of finance for a leasing company, and my mom worked odd part time jobs here and there to keep herself busy. Every weekday, we would make the 30 mile journey from our house to my Grandmother’s. We would have fun together every day. She would take me to the grocery store with her and show me how to pick produce, she would take me to the department stores and buy me anything I wanted, during the summer she would take me to the pool, and on rainy days, we would bake.