Zucchini & Olive Oil Chocolate Muffins

These muffins are magical, and let me tell you why. These muffins have saved me multiple times over the past week. Last Thursday night as we were preparing for our road trip to California, my taste-tester fiance came home from work and needed to make sure that they weren't poisonous (you know, just in case), which saved me an extra 30 minutes to get dinner on the table. Then they saved us again on our 5-hour road trip, when I just couldn't fathom stopping for a road side snack (I see you McDonald's french fries). And then again between meals and sipping champagne on the coast (life is rough). And in fact, the recipe that I based these muffins on saved us on a long day of road tripping in Colorado for a ski weekend last year. See? Magic muffins. So if you are looking for something healthy to feed the kids in between popsicles, cannonballs, and summer break sleepovers, I've got you covered. They'll never even know there are vegetables in there! 

Zucchini & Olive Oil Chocolate Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini, excess liquid squeezed out
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a muffin tin with liners.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, oats, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add in the honey, yogurt, olive oil, and mix well. Then add in the vanilla, mixing again. 

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing until just combined. Add in the shredded zucchini and stir a few times until the zucchini is just incorporated into the batter.

Fill the muffin tins about 2/3 full and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.

Bake for 22-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Two-Toned Chocolate Butter Cake

 

With it being summer and all, and the fact that I live in Phoenix, you would think that turning my oven on would be the last thing I would want to do.  But instead, I decided that it would be a good idea not only bake this loaf of butter cake, but also bake some peanut butter cookies and monster brownies (recipes to follow in the upcoming days). And then send them to New Jersey. Fun fact: shipping dense butter cake and cookies to NJ is not cheap people! What's better than butter cake? Butter cake baked over a layer of a fudge-like brownie. It's a quite dense cake, so just a small slice is quite satisfying.

 Two-Toned Chocolate Butter Cake


Ingredients:

Chocolate Layer:

• 5 oz. dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Butter Cake Layer:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 3 tbsp. almond milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 4x8-inch loaf pan with tin foil and set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate and butter together. Remove form the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes, as not to scramble the egg when you add it in. 

Once the chocolate mixture has cooled a bit, cream in the brown sugar. Then add the egg and mix well to combined. Lastly, add in the flour and pour into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 15 minutes. 

While the brownie layer is baking, prepare the butter cake. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add in the eggs, one a time, mixing well after each addition. Whisk in 1 tbsp. of the milk, then half of the flour and baking powder. Add in another tbsp. of milk, the rest of the flour and baking powder, then the last tbsp. of milk.

After the brownie layer has baked for 15 minutes, pour the butter cake mixture directly on top and place back in the oven, baking for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool completely before slicing and serving. Will last for up to 5 days in an airtight container. 

Recipe adapted from Brownie Butter Cake

Birthday Brownie Cupcakes

Aren't these just the cutest? And not only are they cute, but they have the best of both worlds. Chocolate. Vanilla. Oh, and sprinkles. Lots of colorful sprinkles. I recently made these for my boss' birthday and they were devoured within minutes by the office. Which was unfortunate, because I only snagged one of them. But luckily for me, and you, these are ridiculously easy to make, and the perfect alternative to birthday cake, cookies, or brownies, because they are all three in one! Does someone special have a birthday coming up? These are sure to make their day extra special. 

Birthday Brownie Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 box brownie mix
• 1/2 box white cake mix
• eggs 
• water
• plain flavored oil (vegetable or canola)
• rainbow sprinkles

Prepare the brownie mix and 1/2 of the white cake mix according to the box directions in separate bowls. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Also prepare 2 cupcake tins with cupcake liners.

I used a small cookie scoop to scoop 1 tbsp. brownie mix into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Then clean the cookie scoop and add 1 tbsp. of the white cake mix on top of the brownie mix in each cup.

Sprinkle some rainbow sprinkles on top of each cupcake and bake in the oven 20-23 minutes until cooked through. You will know if you insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean.

Pecan-Chocolate Espresso Coffee Cake

Today's recipe inspiration comes from 2 gifts that I received from 2 very sweet ladies. For Christmas this past year my boyfriend's sister-in-law sent me this incredible down south bakery's cookbook. They make everything from scratch and have been voted the best bakery in Savannah, GA for 8 years running. And what better thing to do on a Thursday afternoon then bake up some homemade coffee cake to last throughout the weekend? Which it didn't. It made it a whole day and a half. It was that good. Secondly, one of my best girlfriends bought me this adorable cook book holder for my birthday (pictured below). It held open my page perfectly, so I didn't lose my place, and it props it up so its easy to see and read. Plus it's super rustic and perfect. She knows me so well! Pair a slice of this delicious cake with your morning coffee and all will be right in the world! Adapted from Back in the Day Bakery 

Pecan-Chocolate Espresso Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 stick (8 tbsp.) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 tsp. fine sea salt
• 3/4 cup pecans, toasted then chopped
• 3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 tsp. espresso powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup milk product of your choice (buttermilk, whole milk, heavy cream, almond milk or 1/2 and 1/2 of 2, etc.)
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract

Place a rack in your oven in the lower third part of your oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Prepare an 8x8-inch baking dish by spraying it with non-stick cooking spray or butter.

In a large bowl or your stand mixer, mix the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and sea salt together until a crumbly mixture forms. Take 3/4 cup of the mixture and set aside in a small bowl for the crumble topping. Because what it coffee cake without the crumble topping?

Add the baking soda, milk, egg, vanilla, and almond extract to the large mixing bowl, and mix until just combined.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the cake mixture into your prepared baking dish. Spread evenly with a spatula, then add the crumble topping evenly on top. 

Cook at 350 for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake at room temperature on a wire cooling rack. Serve for breakfast with a hot cup of coffee.

Chocolate Cake Parfait with Whiskey Caramel Sauce

This. OMG. This is the dessert of all desserts. We celebrated my boyfriend's birthday this week. Which if anyone is keeping count, makes me the older woman. By 9 days. 10 days if it's a leap year. And in my 9 day head start of being 27 years old,  I found the inspiration to create this masterpiece. Moist chocolate cake with whiskey baked right inside, is then topped with fresh homemade whipped cream. And finally, the star of the show. Whiskey caramel sauce. It's sweet. It's boozy. It's sinful. 

Chocolate Cake Parfait with Whiskey Caramel Sauce
Makes 4-6 Parfaits

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. warm water
• 2 tbsp. of your favorite whiskey or bourbon
• 2 cups homemade whipped cream
• 1 batch whiskey carmel sauce

Whiskey Caramel Sauce:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• pinch of cream of tartar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tbsp. whiskey or bourbon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Add in the egg, milk, oil, vanilla, and warm water. Mix until just combined with the dry ingredients. Stir in the whiskey and then fill the prepared muffin tin cups about 2/3 of the way full until all of the batter is used.

Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack at room temperature until completely cooled.

Meanwhile, make the whiskey caramel sauce. Add the sugar and the cream of tarter into a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour the water around the edges of the pan, and bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Then remove the cover and continue to cook for another 5 to 7 minutes, without stirring. The sugar mixture will begin to turn an amber color. Watch carefully, for the sauce can turn from golden amber to burnt very quickly.

Once the caramel turns amber, remove from heat and quickly whisk in the heavy cream and butter. The mixture will bubble up. Just keep whisking until the caramel turns smooth and no more "chunks" exist. Lastly, whisk in the whiskey. Pour into a heat proof bowl and allow to cool at room temperature for about an hour until the caramel cools and thickens, but is still pourable.

To prepare the parfaits; crumble some of the chocolate cake into the bottom of a bowl. Top with a dollop of whipped cream. Then pour some whiskey caramel on top. Repeat another layer.

Serve immediately. And trust me. You won't want to wait.

Homemade Whipped Cream

Ready or not, it's Christmas time. And while some of you were out there shopping the Black Friday deals, I am all about the Cyber Monday where I can sit at my computer in my pajamas, and they can bring those perfect presents to me, right at my own front door.  The holidays also mean holiday baking, and what is dessert without some freshly whipped cream? With only two ingredients, you are only minutes away from homemade deliciousness. 

Homemade Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

• 1 cup very cold heavy whipping cream
• 2 tbsp. powdered sugar

Pour whipping cream into a medium bowl and whisk with an electric hand mixer or use your stand mixer on high until mixture begins to thicken. This may take a couple of minutes.

Add in the sugar and continue whisking. Whisk until stiff peaks form. Serve over all of your favorite desserts!

Mini Pumpkin Pie Cheesecakes

We all know pumpkin pie is a key staple at most Thanksgiving dinners, but what about pumpkin pie's distant cousin, pumpkin pie cheesecake? I adapted the recipe I found a bit by using gingersnaps instead of graham crackers to make the crust, as well as adding some fresh homemade whipped cream on top. These are extremely addicting, and the perfect size for treating yourself after a day full of cooking Thanksgiving dishes.

Mini Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake
Makes 12 mini cheesecakes

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 tsp. table salt
• 1 cup gingersnap cookie crumbs
• 8 oz. light cream cheese, softened (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup plain canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a standard sized cupcake pan with 12 liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray. 

In a small bowl, toss together melted butter, salt, and gingersnap crumbs. Use a tablespoon to measure 1 heaping spoonful of crumb mixture into each liner. Press down firmly with the back of a spoon or bottom of glass to flatten. Bake crusts for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.

Combine cream cheese, pumpkin, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice in a medium bowl. Beat on high for one minute, until smooth. Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Spoon batter evenly into cups and bake for 20-25 minutes or until set. Serve warm, room temperature, or chilled. Cheesecakes may be made up to 4 days before serving.

Goat Cheese Collection

So, Tony the Tiger may have said it first (and about cereal), but goat cheese is seriosuly GRRREAT! I was giong through my old recipes trying to decide if I wanted to remake one of them for dinner the other night, and I realized that I have a plethora of recipes that feature goat cheese. Some are appetizers, some are salads, some are even desserts. I figured I would compile some of my favorites for all of you to see, and then you can make them for yourselves (if you haven't already). So, if you haven't jumped on the goat cheese train, feel free to do so now.

Herbed Goat Cheese Balls
Black Bean Tacos with Goat Cheese
Turkey, Spinach, Goat Cheese Lasagna
Lemon Goat Cheese Cheescake
Eggplant Parmesan with Goat Cheese
Goat Cheese Vegetable Tart
Spinach, Chicken, Goat Cheese Quesdaillas
Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Pasta
Roasted Chicken Mac & Cheese
Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken
Filet Mignon with Balsamic and Goat Cheese

Triple Chocolate Gluten-Free Muffins

My old roommate and I may not live together anymore, but we still enjoy sharing recipes with each other. After catching up at happy hour last week, she brought me one of these delectable muffins to try becuase if she knows me, and she does, then she knows that I LOVE trying new recipes, especially healthier versions of our favorites. Each muffin is only 95 calories, 3 g of fat, 4 g of sugar, and 5 g of protein. The original recipe claims that these are a knock-off of VitaTop muffins...but all I know is that they are DELICIOUS!

I even went as far as to take a large batch of these to my office and pass out the recipe so that they could all make these at home for a healthier breakfast option when on the go!

Lastly, be sure to follow me on instagram for more photos and recipe ideas! @hotdogfoodblog

Triple Chocolate Gluten-Free Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cup oats
• 3 egg whites
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup plain or vanilla greek yogurt
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup baking stevia/truvia/sugar substitute
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare muffin pan by lining it with foil cupcake liners. 

In a blender, add all ingredients except for the chocolate chips. Blend until smooth. Fold in the chococlate chips.

Ladle batter into muffin tin evenly. Cook for 12-15 minutes. Serve. Try not to eat all 12 in one sitting. It's harder than you think.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce

4th of July is just 3 days away, and what better way to celebrate the red, white, and blue than to make these festive pancakes for breakfast. My boyfriend and I's favorite thing to do when we have the weekends off together is to make pancakes. While other people are nursing hangovers, or getting an early gym sesh in, we are scarfing down delicious cakes full of fruit, topped with butter and syrup. 

This past weekend we decided to switch it up and we were not let down! The replacement of milk with ricotta makes these cakes extremely light and fluffy. Then you add in the fresh lemon juice, and top them with the super fresh bluberry sauce, and you've got the perfect summer combination. 

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tbsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup ricotta
• 1 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 large egg
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tsp. lemon zest

Blueberry Sauce:

• 1 1/2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 2 tbsp. water

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. (This will be used to keep the pancakes warm, no one likes cold pancakes!)

To make the blueberry sauce, combine the lemon juice and cornstarch in a bowl and set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar, and 2 tbsp. water. Stir in the lemon juice and cornstarch mixture.

 Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, about 5-7 minutes. Keep warm; set aside. 

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the ricotta, oil, egg, egg whites, lemon juice, and zest.

Pour wet mixture over the dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula until just combined.

Lightly coat a griddle or nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Scoop 1/3 cup batter for each pancake and cook until bubbles appear on top and the underside is nicely browned, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook the pancakes on the other side, about 1-2 minutes longer. Keep warm in the oven.

Serve immediately with blueberry sauce. Turst me, your plate will look like this when you are done.

Grill-ed Brownies

For Father's Day this year I decided to go a bit over the top (not unusual for me) and make my dad these amazingly manly (but also cute) grill brownies. The brownies are baked in cupcake liners for indiviual servings and topped with sprinkles to emulate fire, black frosting for the grill grates and different types of candy to represent the meats. I couldn't share this recipe fast enough with you all, and I cant stress enough how easy these were to make!!

Grill Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 package brownie mix
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup oil
• 2 tbsp. water
• gold sprinkles
• vanilla frosting
• black food coloring
• caramel cremes
• fruit slices candies
• hot tamales
• toothpicks

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners (I made 9 brownies total, but feel free to make more or less!)

Mix brownie mix, egg, oil, and water together until well combined. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full and bake for 22-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Meanwhile, make your grey frosting by mising a 1/3 cup frosting with 2 or 3 drops of black food coloring. Now you can start to put together the "meats". To make the steaks, unwrap a caramel creme and mold with your fingers until it forms a steak shape (I went for a T- bone look). 

To make the kabobs cut the fruit slices into small pieces. Also cut two caramel cremes into pieces. Line the pieces up on a toothpick to create a kabob combination. 

To make the hot dogs, use your grey frosting and draw little "grill marks" on your candy. I did this by putting the frosting in a ziplock bag and then cutting the tip off, squeezing the frosting out in little lines. 

Once the brownies are done baking, wait until they are completely cooled before decorating. To decorate, add sprinkles to the center of each brownie to look like fire. Using your ziplock bag of frosting, pipe grill grates over the sprinkle covered brownie. Lastly, place your different meats amongst the brownies. 

You are sure to impress with these Father's Day treats!!

Lemon Goat Cheese Cheesecake

A few years ago I had the best cheesecake I have ever laid my fork into. There was a restaurant in Old Town Scottsdale called Crudo that was an Italian Japanese fusion restaurant...yes, I know it sounds odd, but I just loved it. For dessert, their in house chef had made lemon goat cheese cheesecake in a jar with a sugar cookie crust. It. was. to. die. for. If I could remember each and every dream that I have had since I had this dessert for the first time, I bet 10% of my dreams were about this sweet and tangy treat. Now, Crudo has moved about 3 blocks from my house in Phoenix, and it takes all of my being to not stop by there each and every day on my way home from work to check in and see if the lemon goat cheese cheesecake is available. 

So instead of the Crudo staff knowing me by first name and my dessert order, I decided to take matters in to my own hands and try making my own version.

Lemon Goat Cheese Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• 5 oz. graham crackers
• 3 tbsp. sugar
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a food processor, process cookies to fine, even crumbs, about 30 seconds. Add sugar and pulse two or three times to incorporate.

Add warm butter in slow, steady stream while pulsing; pulse until mixture is evenly moistened and resembles wet sand, about ten 1-second pulses.

For individual cheesecakes, spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Transfer half of the mixture to a muffin tin and press down mixture into all 12 muffin tins (this recipe will make 24 total). To make one large cheesecake, transfer entire mixture into a springform pan, pressing down firmly.

Bake until fragrant and golden brown, 10 minutes for muffin tins, 15 minutes for springform. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, cut into pieces
• 12 oz. package fresh goat cheese, crumbled
• 2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
• 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 eggs

For the cheesecake, place cream cheese, goat cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla in large bowl. With an electric hand mixer, beat until just smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. In two or three additions, beat in sugar until mixture is creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating and scraping down sides of the bowl after each addition. Continue to beat until mixture is very smooth.

Pour batter into prepared crusts, filling them to the top. Bake until edges of cheesecake look set and the center is still soft and slightly jiggly, about 30 minutes for muffin tins, 50-60 minutes for large springform. Place pan on a rack to cool completely in the pan. Then cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.

When the cheesecake has thoroughly chilled, unmold from muffin tin or springform pan. Carefully remove and serve. 

Halloween Bundt Cake

At my new job we have monthly marketing meetings, where we meet potluck style and everyone brings something to snack on. This month we went with a Halloween themed menu for fun. I signed up to bring a dessert, as dozens of fun recipes ran through my mind. I finally settled on this amazing bundt cake. From the outside it appears as just a simple chocolate cake with some fun frosting. However, once you cut into it, you find swirls of vibrant orange and purple cake. This is great for kids and adults alike, and I promise you it is so easy a caveman could do it (thanks Geico, it never gets old).

Halloween Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 box Betty Crocker classic white cake
• 1 box Betty Crocker chocolate cake mix
• 1 cup oil, divided
• 6 eggs, divided
• 2 1/2 cups water, divided
• black, orange and purple food coloring
• 1 container fluffy white vanilla frosting

Prepare white and chocolate cake mixes in separate bowls as directed on the box. Now take 1 cup of the chocolate mix and throw away or use for cupcakes (too much mix will cause the cake to overflow the pan). Take your black food coloring and begin to tint the chocolate mix until you have reached a desired black color.

Now split the white cake mix in half and place into two separate bowls. Tint one bowl of cake mix with purple food coloring and the other bowl with orange food coloring.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a large bundt cake or tube pan with baking spray. Pour 1/2 of the "black" cake mix into the bottom of the cake pan. Now carefully pour the purple mix over the black, do not stir or mix, just simply pour it over the top. Now do the same with the orange mixture. Finish by covering the rest with the remaining black cake mix. 

Bake for 50 minutes in the overn, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Flip over and let cool on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes, or at room temperature (do not try to frost while even slightly warm).

To frost the cake, separate the frosting into thirds and put each third into a separate bowl. Tint each bowl a different color using your black, orange, and purple food coloring from earlier. Once you get the desired coloring, place each bowl in the microwave for about 8 seconds, allowing the frosting to thin out.

Use a spoon to drizzle each color of frosting over the cake. Let sit until frosting is set and serve!