key lime pie

It's the last day of January.

And I made you Key Lime Pie.

Because I haven't had my fill of citrus.  I warned you.

And because I was walking around the grocery store a while back and saw big bags of key limes for like $2.  I don't even know what key limes usually go for, but my brain said "score!".  My brain also said, "oooh they're so cute & tiny".  So, I bought bags of key limes for no good reason at all.

Today's lesson: key limes are tiny.  Like, ridiculously tiny.  You guys.  My fingers still hurt.  See that bowl up there?  That is 42 key limes!  For half a cup of juice!  Apparently key limes are rather reluctant to part with their juices.

Zesty!

Pain and angry outbursts of disbelief aside, key limes make one mighty fine pie.  They add such a great tartness, something you can't quite get with regular limes.

Oh yeah, key lime pie must have whipped cream.  It's a rule.  To balance the tartness.  (But didn't she just say that the tartness was great?)  Shhhh.....

I seriously loved this pie.  So creamy, tangy, and awesome.  It was perfect to eat on the weird 80-degree days we've had out here.

I'm betting it's just what you need to bust you out of the winter blues.

Key Lime Pie
makes one pie

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Ingredients:
For the Graham Cracker Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 10 sheets)
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted

For the Key Lime Filling:
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup key lime juice
1 heaping tablespoon key lime zest

For the Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
key lime zest for garnish, optional

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

For the Graham Cracker Crust:  In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter, stirring well to combine.  Press mixture into pie pan.  

Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven to cool and maintain the oven temperature.

For the Key Lime Filling:  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all ingredients on medium speed until well blended.  Pour filling into the cooled pie crust.

Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool completely.  Chill the pie in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

For the Whipped Cream:  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream and sugar on low speed and gradually increase to high speed.  Whip until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes.

When the pie is done chilling, spread the whipped cream over the whole pie or pipe decorative swirls.  Slice and enjoy!  Keep pie refrigerated.

*NOTES:
- The graham cracker crumbs can be made with a food processor or by placing the crackers in a plastic bag and crushing with a rolling pin or other heavy object.
- It took me about 42 key limes to make this pie.  To make it easier, using regular limes is just fine.

cranberry clementine scones

Cozy.

That's the word that comes to mind when I think of scones.  Other than... scones.

To me, they should be enjoyed while bundled up under a fuzzy blanket with a steamy mug of tea.  Ick, I just realized that I don't really like the word "steamy".  Anywho, scones are definitely cozy.

Kind of like this "winter" weather we're having in L.A.  It's a pleasant 72 degrees as I write this.

The combination of warm weather and heavy holiday desserts makes me crave citrus.  And the fact that we have a lemon tree at our apartment building that I sit and stare at because I'm weird like that doesn't help things.  The day I decided to go pick the ripe ones, some random dude in an electrician van pulled up and stole all of my lemons.  Uhhh, okay, sir.  Go ahead and help yourself to my lemons.

Oh, so, point of that story?  Expect to see a lot of citrus from me.

And a tip?  Watching Atonement while baking results in some epically depressing scone making.  I don't recommend it.

Nope, that's not cheese.  It's grated butter.  I do recommend doing that.  If you love the smell of butter, this is a must.  Deeeee-vine.  And it's the easiest way to incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients.

A few notes about the scones:  1) They are not overly sweet scones, like what you'd find at Starbucks.   You can totally add more sugar if that's your thang.  2) Even though I made mine with clementines, you can definitely make them with oranges.  I just think clementines are cuter.  Plus, I bought a 10 pound bag and kinda needed to use some up.  3) Use any kind of cranberries you like.  Fresh, frozen (like I did), or dried.  But if you use dried, make sure to decrease the sugar by about 3 tablespoons since they are already sweetened.

Now that we have that covered, get to it!

Cranberry Clementine Scones
makes 8 large scones

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Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 heaping tablespoon grated clementine zest (from ~ 5 clementines)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled & grated
1 cup cranberries (fresh or frozen), coarsely chopped
3/4 cup chilled buttermilk
1/4 cup clementine juice (from ~ 5 clementines)
1 egg, for egg wash
coarse sanding sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, sift flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda.  Add in the clementine zest and stir to combine.  Add the grated butter and combine it with the dry ingredients using a fork, pastry cutter or your hands until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Mix in the chopped cranberries.  Slowly add the buttermilk and clementine juice.   Use a fork to toss the mixture until wet clumps form.  

On a lightly floured surface, turn the dough out.  Using about 4-6 turns, carefully knead the dough. Form the dough into a round about 1-inch thick.  Cut the round into 8 wedges or use a biscuit cutter. Place the scone wedges on the prepared baking sheet, leaving a couple of inches between them.

Beat the egg in a small bowl.  Brush a little bit of the egg wash on the top of each scone.  Sprinkle with the coarse sanding sugar.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.  Let the scones cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.  Scones can be served warm or at room temperature.

*NOTES:
-Regular oranges can be used in place of clementines.
- You can use dried cranberries if you like.  Just decrease the sugar by about 3 tablespoons.
- I like the scones better the next day, after the flavors have married.  Just heat up & enjoy!

Source: adapted from Epicurious

Hey there, cute mug!

By the way, don't you just love the green dress that Keira Knightley wears in Atonement?

gigantic triple chocolate cookies

Need a bribe?

Use these humongously enormous, colossally gigantic cookies.  Made with three types of chocolate.

They'll get you out of the doghouse.  Or make your boss overlook that work thingy you forgot to turn in on time.  They'll make people want to be your friend.  They'll even get your upstairs neighbors to stop stomping in boots at 5:30 in the morning.

Regardless of why you make these cookies, they are really hard to resist.  I actually crave these big guys and I'm not even a huge chocolate person.  Did I just say that?

This recipe is for a copycat of the cookies from the famous Levain Bakery in New York City.  Each cookie is 4 ounces!  I know.  You'd think that's too big, but you're wrong.  They're perfect.  Especially right out the oven.  Even after you burn your mouth.  See what these do to me?!

In completely unrelated news, Pretty Little Liars is back on and I couldn't be more excited.  I love that show!  Judge me if you will.

Might as well make some more of these cookies so I can enjoy two of my guilty pleasures at once.

Gigantic Triple Chocolate Cookies
makes 10-12 gigantic cookies

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Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
scant 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup dutch-process cocoa powder
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high until lightened in color and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl after each addition.  With the mixer on low, add the cocoa powder and mix until well blended.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.  Using a spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.

Transfer the dough to a work surface and briefly mix by hand to incorporate any crumbly bits left at the bottom of the bowl.

Using a scale, divide the cookie dough into 4-ounce balls (or just divide into equal pieces).  Place dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, a few inches apart.  Gently flatten the tops (don’t press down too much).  Bake for 16-20 minutes, or until the tops are no longer glossy.  Let cookies cool on pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!  Store in an air-tight container.

*NOTES:
- I used dutch-process cocoa from Penzeys Spices.  You can use Hershey’s Special Dark if you can find it.
- Microwave leftover cookies for 30 seconds to get the chocolate all melty and yummy.
- For smaller cookies, 3-ounce cookies bake for 13-14 minutes and yield about 16 cookies.  2-ounce cookies bake for 10-11 minutes and yield about 22 cookies.

Source: adapted from Annie's Eats

brown butter funfetti rice krispies treats

Happy New Year, everyone!  I hope you're enjoying 2012 so far.  And I hope even more that y'all had a wonderful holiday season!

I'm sorry for my absence over the past few weeks.  I know it seems like I fell off the face of the earth or died or whatever.  I fully intended to share tons of yumminess, and believe me, I was baking up a storm, but nothing ever turned out perfect enough for me to want to share with you.

There were the ginger cookies that looked like cheese.  The barks that were too thick to bite into.  The cake rolls that wouldn't unroll.  The hot chocolate sticks that wouldn't melt.  Yep.  Fun times.

After all of my baking "almosts", I decided to make something easy.  Buuuut of course, as I was melting the butter, I got distracted by something and it started to brown.  Ummm, brown butter rice krispies treats?  Heck yes.  Best.decision.everrrrrr.  Prepare to have your mind blown.

Then I added sprinkles cuz I felt like it.  I wanted some fun colors since my New Year's Eve didn't involve any confetti.  Or binge drinking.  Just sayin'.

Anywho, I ate half the pan while I was taking pictures.  I didn't care that my stomach was about to explode from sugar overload or that I hadn't shared them with anyone else.  They were soooo good.

And while I was sitting on the plane next to some lady that smelled like moth balls, all I could think about was whyyyy I didn't bring any with me.  Oh, that's right.  Because I ate them all.

Now I'm home and it's time to make more!  Definitely starting 2012 out right!

Brown Butter Funfetti Rice Krispies Treats
makes 15 treats

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Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
1 (10.5 ounce) bag mini marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1/4 cup sprinkles, divided

Directions:
Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan.  Set aside.

In a large pot over low heat, melt the butter until browned and little black bits start to form on the bottom, about 5 minutes.

Add the marshmallows and stir until melted.

Remove the pot from heat.  Add the cereal and most of the sprinkles, and mix until completely coated with the marshmallows.  Pour into the prepared pan.  Using a spatula or your fingers, press the mixture into the pan. Top with the remaining sprinkles.

Let the treats sit for about 30 minutes before cutting.  Enjoy!

Source: adapted from the Rice Krispies cereal box

By the way, did I mention that one of my resolutions is to eat less sugar?  Ooooops ;)