Vanilla Bean Frozen Custard ... my new favorite ice cream

You guys.  This chocolate ice cream lover has just fallen head over heels for vanilla.  Big time.

Lately, I can't stop thinking about frozen custard.  I blame you, Freddy's.

This vanilla bean frozen custard is luscious, creamy, rich, and it's also officially my new favorite.

Ice creams and frozen custards are a cinch to make.  This one starts with a cooked custard base.  Don't let that scare you.  I promise...it's easy.


Once the custard finishes freezing in your ice cream machine, it'll be soft.  Pop it in the freezer for a few hours to let it harden up and become scoopable.  (That is, if there's any left to freeze...you may eat it all before it gets there.)

Click on over to Imperial Sugar; I'm sharing the recipe there.


Chocolate, there's a new kid in town!

Dessert for Dudes: Love Me Tender(loin)

If you're asking yourself, Where's the Beef...don't worry.  It's not in these cookies. 


These chocolate cut-out cookies are just decorated to look like a side of beef.  They'd make a sweet gift for your dude, the perfect ending to a steak dinner, or a festive dessert for a BBQ.  (In Texas, we have BEEF BBQ...you North Carolinians, check here.)

I bought the cookie cutter on etsy, but you could always use any cow-shaped cookie cutter and just freehand the lines.  Call it "abstract beef."


As for the cookie recipe, I wish I could give you the exact one I used for these today, but I'll have to wait until October 7th (eep!). 
In the meantime, use any chocolate cut-out cookie recipe, like this one.

 

To make Love Me Tenderloin Cookies, you'll need:

• chocolate cut-out cookies
• royal icing, tinted with AmeriColor Bright White
• disposable icing bag
• coupler and #2 tip
• large heart sprinkles

Cut out and bake the cookies, taking care not to press the sectioned cutter so forcefully into the dough that it cuts it into separate pieces.


Use a #2 tip to outline the cookie and sections with white icing.


Place a dot of icing approximately where a tenderloin would be. (I studied more illustrations of cuts of beef that I ever thought I would and this is the best place I could come up with.)


Place a heart sprinkle onto the dot of icing.

Let set about 1 hour before packaging.

Mmm....beefy. 

Sweet on Trader Joe's Saturdays: Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies

Hello fellow Trader Joe's (and cookie) lovers!!!

Today, kiddo and I are reviewing the Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies.  Trader Joe's describes these as "...all butter, crispy cookies...made with lots of dark chocolate chunks and California almond pieces." 

A tub (don't you love buying desserts by the tub?) will set you back $3.99.  There about about 36 little cookies in each container.


My take:  As soon as I spied these in TJ's, I thought, "well, I'll polish those off in about 24 hours."  I didn't love them, though.  I can't say I taste much almond in these, but they are crunchy.  If you're a cookie/milk dunker, you might like them a little more. 
Overall rating: 3 of 5 stars

Kiddo's Take: One word: addictive. The enjoyable crunchiness and perfect amount of almond flavor are often interrupted by pops of delectable sweetness from the not-too-dark, yet not-too-milky, chocolate chunks. I could definitely polish these off in less than 24 hours. Beat that, Mom.
Overall rating: 5 of 5 stars


Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies: split decision!

*Each week the kiddo (age 15) and I review a Trader Joe's sweet.  Leave your favorites and/or requests in the comments!*

Oh hello, summer.

We had friends over for dinner a few weeks ago.  I'm not sure why this is such a rare occurrence.  No matter where we lived growing up, my parents belonged to a dinner club...my favorite was called "Grub Club." Our house was frequently filled with people, or were heading somewhere, to share a meal.  I'm convinced this is because it was in the days BEFORE Martha Stewart Living and Pinterest.

{Don't get me wrong, I love me some Martha and have spent approximately 192,000 hours of my life on Pinterest.}

OK...so, back to us actually having friends over.  I did not take pictures of the food.  Except for this one of margarita making in progress with my phone:

It looks really pretty on my phone, not so much on the computer.  I thought about waiting to post this recipe until I had "real" pictures, but then thought...you NEED margaritas.  Like, pronto!  There is no waiting.  It's summer!!!

Make-Ahead Margaritas for a Crowd

{serves 8-10}

2 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 cups freshly squeezed lime juice (approximately 74 limes, ha!)
2 cups tequila (100% agave)
1 cup Cointreau

sugar-salt rim:
1 TBSP granulated sugar
1 TBSP kosher salt
zest of one lime (preferably grated with a microplane)
lime wedges

Heat the water and sugar together in a small saucepan until the sugar has completely dissolved.  Set aside to cool.

In a large pitcher, combine the cooled sugar syrup, lime juice, tequila, and Cointreau.  Stir well.  Refrigerate.

Make the sugar-salt rim.  On a small plate, stir together the sugar, salt, and lime zest.

To make the margaritas, run a lime wedge along the edge of a glass.  Dip the glass into the sugar-salt mixture.  Fill the glass with ice.  Stir the margarita mix and pour over ice.

{recipe adapted from Martha Stewart & Food Network}


PS. You may want to double this recipe...we ran out!  
That's the sign of a good dinner party (not poor planning on my part), right?!? 

Desserts for Dudes: Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies with Candied Bacon and Pecans

Welcome to Desserts for Dudes month!!! 
Every June, I like to feature desserts that are especially created for the dudes.  Don't worry...gals can eat them, too.

 

We're kicking off this year with Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pig Candy.  That's candied bacon to you and me. 

These cookies have a double shot of bacon.  Yeah, baby.  It's pretty much a universal truth that dudes dig bacon.



Crispy edges, chewy bacon, crunchy pecans, sweet chocolate chips...

You'll want to start by reserving some bacon drippings/grease/fat.  My mom kept a coffee can of bacon grease under the sink.  For years, I (don't report me) poured my grease down the sink.  I know, I know!!!  I'm sorry!  Wrong on so many levels.

Now, I save my bacon grease and keep it in a jar in my fridge.  After I cook up some bacon and remove it from the pan, I let the fat cool a bit.  Then, you can pour it directly into the jar, or pour it through a coffee filter to strain out the bits.


Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies with Candied Bacon and Pecans

for the candied bacon and pecans:
bacon, about 6-8 slices
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup demerara or light brown sugar
pinch sea salt

for the cookies:
2 & 1/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt 
1/4 cup bacon grease (cooled and solidified)
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 package milk chocolate chips
candied bacon & pecans

prepare the pig candy:

Cook the bacon in a skillet until cooked through, but still soft.  Drain on paper towels.  Reserve bacon drippings.  Wipe out the skillet.


Chop the bacon to make 1/2 cup. (Refrigerate any extras for another use.)  Add the chopped bacon, pecans, and 1/4 cup demerara or light brown sugar to the skillet.  Heat on medium-low, stirring often, until the sugar melts and coats the bacon and pecans, about 15 minutes.

Remove the bacon and nuts to drain on paper bags (I use lunch bags...they will stick to paper towels).  Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt.  Set aside.

make the cookies:
Preheat oven to 350.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the bacon grease, butter, and sugars until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding the vanilla with the second egg.  Beat until combined.  Add the flour mixture in three additions, mixing on low.



Stir in the milk chocolate chips and reserved candied bacon and pecans.

Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the dough onto the prepared cookie sheets.  Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until done.  The cookies can still be a little soft in the centers; they will firm up while cooling.  Cool on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.

Alright, dudes. Here ya go.  Any recipe requests for this month? 

Sweet on Trader Joe's Saturdays: Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

Even before this series started, I'd never purchased anything from the little bakery section in Trader Joe's.  It's easy to miss, tucked in the back of the produce section.

This week, we decided to give the baked goods a try with Trader Joe's Pink Lemonade Cupcakes.  Trader Joe's describes these as "moist lemony cupcakes with a tangy lemonade flavored cream cheese frosting."

For $3.99, you'll get a box of four cupcakes.


My take: I loved these.  They are honestly better than some $3.50 a piece cupcake-shop cupcakes I've had.  I'm a frosting girl through-and-through, but if I'm going to have a cupcake, the cake part better not be dry.  The cake here is moist (I know, you hate that word...but it's true) and tart with the perfect crumb.  The frosting....oh, the frosting....tangy, sweet, lemony, utterly delicious.  Looking at the ingredients, I noticed that the frosting is colored with hibiscus powder, and that make me love them even more.
Overall rating: 5 of 5 stars

Kiddo's take: Simply put, these cupcakes taste a LOT like lemonade! The "pink" is a nice touch, of course, but there's not that much difference between pink and regular lemonade. The richness of the cake combined with the tanginess and sweetness of the frosting leaves the taster with a delightful aftertaste- which might incline you to eat the whole package. These are quite possibly the most accurate representation of lemon-y-ness I have tasted in a cupcake.
Overall rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Trader Joe's Pink Lemonade Cupcakes: be sure to stop by the bakery table and pick up a box!

Raspberry Poppy Seed Bread

Quick breads.  Oh, you evil temptresses.


I try *not* to bake quick breads often because I love them so much.  My muffin top should probably be referred to as a "quick bread" top.

Mr. E will tell you, I've had a long standing love affair with Starbucks pumpkin loaf.  He seems ok with it.


Sometimes the call of the quick bread is too strong and it must be answered.  Such is the case today.

This Raspberry Poppy Seed Bread is sweet, moist, studded with crunchy poppy seeds, and tart raspberries.  It's topped off with a simple lemon glaze.

The recipe calls for frozen raspberries, so you can make it all year long.  Also, it makes two loaves.  One for you, one for the neighbors.  Or, two for you. 


Let me give you a little hint...I think the bread tastes most delicious when it's been left to sit (wrapped and refrigerated) for a day or two.


Raspberry Poppy Seed Bread.  When the call of the quick bread can no longer be ignored.

{Find the recipe over at Imperial Sugar.}