Whoopie!

I thought about calling this post "Making Whoopie with Martha," but thought better of it.  I'm talking about whoopie pies, of course.  There's nothing pie like about them, but they certainly do make me say, "Whoopeeee!" 

Just about every New Englander knows what a whoopie pie is.  Go much south of, say, Pennsylvania, or into the wilds of New York state, and you may get a funny look if you request such a thing.  They are well worth knowing about.  A fluffy chocolate cake/cookie hybrid, sandwiched together with a fluffy vanilla filling; delicious.  (My guess is someone in research and development at Nabisco is from New England, and that's how Oreo Cakesters evolved.  However, if you've had a Cakester, don't assume you've had a whoopie pie.  Same family, but nowhere near as good.)

My Gramma Bonnie used to make them for special treats, and I have her recipe, but this is not it.  This is a deeper, more chocolaty version than hers, and I love. it. to. bits.  I finally perfected a filling that I like, too, which is what's been hanging me up from posting the recipe.

Try them out - let me know what you think of them!

WHOOPIE PIES

Cakes:
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, sift together, flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar with a mixer (I use my stand mixer) on low until just combined. Increase speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes.
Add egg and vanilla and beat for two more minutes.
Add half of the flour mixture and half of the milk and beat on low until incorporated. Repeat with remaining flour and milk and beat until combined.
Using a tablespoon or cookie scoop, drop batter on baking sheet two inches apart. Bake for about 10-12 minutes (10 for 1-tablespoon size, 12 for 2-tablespoon size) or until pies spring back when pressed gently.
Remove from oven and cool for about five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

1 Tbsp of batter/small cookie scoop should make about 48 two-inch cakes or 24 pies.
2 Tbsp of batter/medium cookie scoop should make about 30 four-inch cakes or 15 pies.

Filling:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups Marshmallow Fluff (or marshmallow creme, if you don't have Fluff locally)

With electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla and salt. Beat in Fluff until incorporated, about 2 minutes. Refrigerate filling until slightly firm, about 30 minutes. (Bowl can be wrapped and refrigerated for up to 2 days.)

Dollop about a tablespoon of filling on center of flat side of half of the cakes. Top with flat side of remaining cakes and gently press until filling spreads to edge of cake. Serve.

Whoopie pies may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to three days.

Yeehar! Caviar!

Merry New Year, everyone! We're digging out from a Boxing Day snowstorm, which postponed our family Christmas party, which means that we have to eat up some stuff that I made for the party. Fortunately, one of the things that we need to eat is a fairly large bowl of Texas Caviar.

If you're squeamish about eating fish eggs, there's no need to stop reading, as there's nothing remotely close to actual caviar in Texas Caviar. My dear friend (since high school days) and faithful reader Kim brought a bowl of this to our house for a party the weekend after Thanksgiving, and it's addictive, sort of a bean-based (rather than tomato-based) salsa. I highly recommend it for your next party!

Texas Caviar

"Caviar" Ingredients:
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained and rinsed
1 jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
1 red onion, chopped fine
2 stalks of celery, chopped fine
Optional: 1/2 jar jalapenos, chopped fine

Stir all ingredients together in large bowl.

Marinade ingredients:
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar

Heat on stove until sugar dissolves. Let mixture cool before pouring over caviar mixture. Cover bowl and allow to marinate overnight, for best results. Strain caviar (but be sure not to rinse!) in colander and serve with Fritos or tortilla chips.

Out, out, damned spot!

If you'd walked into my kitchen last night and seen my hands, you might have called the homicide detective at the local police station, as my hands appeared to be covered in blood. In fact, they're still a little pink this morning. The victim? Some lovely oven-roasted beets.

I hated beets as a kid. If we had them (which wasn't often, due I think in part to my protestations), they were out of a can. They had a bit of a bite to them that I just couldn't get around.

I decided a few years back that it was time to try beets for real - nice fresh ones, not the canned variety - and I loved them. I loved them so much that I decided to make them for Thanksgiving which, given the somewhat labor-intensive last-minute prep, was not the best idea I'd ever had, though they went over very well at dinner. Now I save them to make for just the two of us, or a small dinner with friends...not when I'm cooking for 16.

The reason for the pink fingers? These don't get peeled before roasting, but after. The skins slip off fairly easily, but you'll be covered with juice...and beet juice stains. Oh, how it stains. If you're particular about that, you may want to don some gloves and perhaps an apron before peeling.

Roasted Beets

1 bunch beets, approximately one pound
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400F. While oven is heating, scrub beets well; nobody likes gritty beets. Trim off tops and any dangling root ends, and wrap each beet individually in aluminum foil. Place beets in a shallow baking dish or on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast at 400F for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on size of beets.

When they are done, a skewer should pierce the beet with no resistance, and come out easily. Remove beets from oven. Allow to rest for a few minutes and then carefully unwrap them from the foil - beware of steam from the packets. Allow to cool a bit (I ran mine under a little tepid water), then carefully peel. Slice into 1/4" slices. Put sliced beets in a medium bowl. Add olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and toss gently. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Pöpcørn

Popcorn Shrimp!



This just made me laugh so hard I cried. Enjoy.

For added enjoyment, watch a second time with the subtitles turned on. Seriously. Do it.

Oh, oh, oh, ice cold milk...

Anyone remember that commercial? The next line is "...and an Oreo cookie."

I'd like to amend that to "...and an Oreo cupcake."


My friend Lora (waves at Lora) is planning a party for her husband, who's just a few weeks older than I; we each have a birthday coming up soon. (It's not a number I'm particularly excited about celebrating, but I guess it beats the alternative.) She's planning to make several kinds of cupcakes, one of which is Oreo, or cookies and cream - a vanilla cupcake with Oreo chunks within.

We found a recipe and did a trial run a couple of weeks ago, but were less than thrilled with the result; "hockey pucks" would be a little harsh, but we weren't crazy about them, so I told her I'd see what I could do.

What you see in the picture is the result of my experiment. It's a moist, dense cake, studded with Oreo pieces, as well as a half an Oreo on the bottom of the cupcake. She's thinking of a cream cheese frosting; I went with a small-batch butter frosting, which is a little like Oreo filling. Despite being back on Weight Watchers, I have succumbed to the deliciousness of these little numbers. Lots of salad for me to make up the points I spent, but oh, so worth it.

Click here for printable recipe!


Oreo Cupcakes with Small-Batch Butter Frosting

Makes 12 cupcakes

18 ounce package of Oreos (you’ll need two of the three “rows” of Oreos)
1 tablespoon flour
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup sour cream (I used reduced-fat)
1 whole egg plus 2 egg yolks at room temperature
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Line muffin tin with cupcake liners. Gently twist apart twelve Oreos. This will leave you with twelve wafers with filling, and twelve plain wafers. Place halves with cream filling, filling side up, in cupcake liners.

Cut 6 of the remaining plain chocolate wafers in half for garnishing cupcakes; a serrated bread knife works well for this task. The other 6 wafers may be chopped or crushed for additional garnishing. Set aside.

The remaining Oreos from the row you took those Oreos from, plus another whole row, should be chopped into chunks; I cut them into quarters. In a small bowl, toss the quarters with a tablespoon of flour, which will allow for more even distribution of Oreo pieces in the batter.

In mixing bowl of stand mixer whisk together dry ingredients. Add sour cream, butter, egg and egg yolks, and vanilla, and beat until smooth, about 30 seconds. Remove bowl, scrape down sides, and gently mix in any remaining pockets of flour.

Gently fold in quartered Oreos.

With a two-ounce cookie scoop, portion batter into cupcake liners.

Bake 24-28 minutes. Tops should be slightly browned, and a toothpick should come out clean when inserted into the center of a cupcake.

Cool 10 minutes in muffin tin, then remove to rack.

When cool, frost with vanilla frosting.


Small-Batch Butter Frosting

Yield: about 2 1/3 cups

16 ounces (1 pound) confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
4 to 6 tablespoons milk or half-and-half
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch salt (omit if using salted butter)

In large bowl, with mixer at medium-low speed, beat confectioners’ sugar, softened butter, vanilla, salt, and 3 tablespoons milk until smooth and blended. Beat in additional milk as needed for easy spreading consistency. Increase speed to medium-high, and beat until light and fluffy.

Coleslaw 2: Electric Boogaloo

One of the first recipes I posted on here, nearly three years ago (!), was for coleslaw. Now, it's pretty tasty stuff - and I am not a coleslaw fan - but one problem with it is that it gets watery. It happens: mix some salt in with cabbage, and the moisture gets drawn out. No two ways about it; that's just the nature of salt.

There is, however, a way around it this issue. Salt the cabbage BEFORE you make the coleslaw. Sure, it's an extra step, but once you've drawn out the excess moisture, leaving surprisingly still-crisp cabbage behind, you can make your coleslaw ahead of time, instead of an hour before the event. In fact, the recipe I'm about to present will keep for up to three DAYS in the fridge. Not hours - DAYS. Get ready to make this for your next cookout or barbecue - perhaps for July 4th?

Printable recipe available - click here!

Creamy Buttermilk Coleslaw

Serves 4

Note: If you plan to serve the coleslaw immediately, rinse the salted cabbage in a large bowl of ice water, drain it in a colander, pick out any ice cubes, then pat the cabbage dry with paper towels before dressing.

1 pound cabbage (about 1/2 medium head), red or green or a combination, finely shredded (about 6 cups)
1 teaspoon salt
1 medium carrot , shredded on box grater

Dressing:
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 small shallot , minced (about 2 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Toss shredded cabbage and 1 teaspoon salt in colander or large mesh strainer (the basket of a salad spinner works, too) and set over medium bowl. Let stand until cabbage wilts, at least 1 hour, up to 4 hours. Rinse cabbage under cold running water. Press, but do not squeeze, to drain; pat dry with paper towels. Place wilted cabbage with the shredded carrot in a large bowl.

Stir together dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Pour dressing over cabbage and toss to combine; refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.

Coleslaw may be refrigerated for up to 3 days.


Adapted from America's Test Kitchen.

A little redecorating

In the spirit of my kitchen redo (which, by the way, is STILL not finished), I thought I'd spiff up the blog a little bit. Let me know what you think! I have some seasonal Sesame Street photos that will probably rotate through the banner at the top.

Coming soon: recipes for lamb burgers and tzatziki!