O-O-reo O-O-reo, what's in the middle? The white stuff!

You are totally singing it now aren't you? Nothing like a little Weird Al stuck in your head to brighten your day. You're welcome :)
So, it's my friend, Colin's, birthday and we had a picnic by the beach in Del Mar last week to celebrate that in addition to wrapping up Community Group for the school year. He wanted something oreo-y and otherwise left it up to me. Pinterest, here I come! I found these cute little oreo cheesecake cupcakes and they are so easy to make! Plus they are great to take to a picnic, they are so portable and not messy. Perfect for summer get-togethers.

Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes

Ingredients

24 Oreos: 16 left whole, and 8 coarsely chopped

2 8-oz pkg. cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

1/2 cup sour cream

Pinch of salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 275 F. Line muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole Oreo in the bottom of each lined cup. Beat the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium. Gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Pour in the beaten egg, a little at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand. Pour the batter into the prepared tins, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, 22-25 minutes. Cool in the pans for about 15 minutes, on a wire rack, then transfer to a plate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Toasted Coconut Cupcakes

Last week was my friend, Cheryl's, birthday. She is in school so her birthday is such bad timing, she was only able to steal away 5 minutes to come eat a cupcake before returning to an all-nighter writing a 20-page paper. I remember those days. I am so glad I am not still in school, sigh...
Anyway, we celebrated on Friday night instead by going to see The Great Gatsby. That was such a great movie! The costumes and music were so beautiful. It doesn't look like it got great reviews but I loved it and highly recommend.

Anyway, here is the recipe for Cheryl's birthday cupcakes. They were delicious. The toasted coconut gives them such a great texture!

Toasted Coconut Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

2 sticks of butter, at room temperature

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. coconut extract

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 tsp. salt

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vinegar

1 cup toasted coconut

Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese

2 sticks butter at room temperature

5 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. coconut extract

1 cup toasted coconut

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread the 2 cups of coconut on a baking sheet and toast for 20 minutes (or until lightly brown), stirring every 5 minutes. Set aside and let cool.

In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter, beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. Sift together flour and salt. Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Blend in vanilla and coconut extract. In a small bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar and add to mixture. Stir in toasted coconut. Pour batter into cupcake tins. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from heat and cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:

Mix the butter and cream cheese until creamy and smoothed out. Add the powdered sugar and mix until creamy. Add vanilla and coconut extract. Frost the cupcakes and dip in coconut. (if desired, place a Hersheys Kiss in the middle for presentation)

Why I love geeks (and Will Wheaton)

I saw this video clip from Will Wheaton from the Calgary Comic Expo and just love it! (Video Here) I love Will Wheaton anyway. I think he was one of my first celebrity crushes, waaaay back when he was a young teenager in Stand By Me. I love how he describes nerds/geeks. "Its not what you love, its how you love it."
I have been trying to put my finger on it for years. I have always been drawn to geeks. They are my people! One of my favorite shows is The Big Bang Theory because I identify with it so much! (oh, and Mr. Wheaton pops his head in from time to time) This (even better video here) exact same scenario has happened in my dining room countless times! I don't know if that is so much that my friends are geeks or just overgrown 7th grade boys, but either way, to have it depicted in a sitcom just makes me laugh. I just... relate.
I consider myself a geek, and not so much because of the things I like (although things like Settlers of Catan, Firefly, and pretty much all things Joss Whedon would definitely put me in that category) it is because when I like something, I really LIKE something. I have a bit of an obsessive personality which can be a good and a bad thing. People who know me know that the things I am passionate about are just that... passions! When I fell in love with theater I was not just someone who loved theater, I was someone who would take off of work when RENT came to town and "rush" in line for 12 hours with the other crazies to get front row tickets. When I first read Harry Potter, I didn't stop until I read all seven books in less than a week and went to the movies at midnight with all the 15 year old kids wearing Gryffindor scarves and lightening bolts painted on their foreheads. I love the concept of Cosplay but I don't dare let myself get into it because I know I would get way too into it and spend a lot of money I don't have making elaborate costumes.
Ultimately, I think that is why I love geeks so much, they have passion. They love things, a lot! That is a beautiful quality in a person. And, of course, they are a bit on the fringe which I love too. Who wants to be too mainstream? Blech...
Anyway, until I connect with that one passionate outsider that I am sure is out there (probably at Comic Con or something) I will keep pinning things like this on Pinterest, because... let's face it, this will probably come in handy one day. LONG LIVE GEEKS!

Bite Sized Goodness

Have you ever tried writing a blog with "The Big Bang Theory" on in the background? It is very distracting. I have been sitting here for about 15 minutes with my fingers on the keyboard but my eyes on the T.V. I feel like I am back in school! Anyway... I just made the most delicious appetizers for my Community Group, I found the recipe on Pinterest (here is the original blog) don't they look yummy? They are so easy, too.

Roasted Grapes with Thyme and Ricotta on Bread

Toss some red grapes with olive oil, salt and thyme. Spread them out on a baking sheet and bake for 7-9 minutes at 450 F. Set aside and let cool. Remove thyme sprigs.

Slice a loaf of rustic bread into 1/2 inch pieces and brush with olive oil. Broil until lightly browned (flipping over half way to cook both sides). Set aside and let cool.

Spread a layer of ricotta cheese on each slice of bread and top, sprinkle with salt and top with a spoonful of grapes.

Another thing I made this week were red velvet cake pops. (I have made them before here) Last time I made them, my friend, Jaimee, took a leftover one to work and her coworker loved it and hired me to make some for her baby shower. 

They turned out so cute, like little baby rattles.

Lovin' the South

I haven't blogged in about a month. Work has been super stressful and I have no motivation to write when I am stressed out. Without going into details (this blog is not about my work life) March, was the most difficult month ever. Every day, I wanted to hide away in a blanket fort and color rather than be a responsible adult and go to work. Fortunately the hardest part is over, and now it is time to pick myself up and keep marching on! The one highlight in March, however, was my business trip to Charlotte, North Carolina. I have never been on a business trip before, it was really fun! I felt so important! Right before I flew out there, my boss said, "Don't let them recruit you, now, we have lost a few employees to that." A comment made mostly in jest and I didn't take it too seriously but that did have me thinking while I was out there if I would ever actually consider relocating to North Carolina.

Let me tell you, there are a lot of plusses to living in the south! For one thing everything is so cheap compared to San Diego! For the same amount I pay for my apartment, I could live in a house twice the size. That is pretty much true for anywhere else in the U.S. which is depressing to think about so I just don't. Also, and I know this sounds mean, but the majority of people in the south are really fat. The obesity epidemic is country-wide for sure, but those southern states with their greasy food definitely have big people. I have never been a petite girl, but over there I felt so tiny! I am a virtual size two by comparison, talk about good for the ego. And finally, I'll just say it, I have a bit of a weakness for men of the African-American persuasion. I don't meet many of them where I live, but in Charlotte, they are everywhere! So... in one move, I could be rich, thin, and surrounded by beautiful men!  Talk about a win-win! I am on the wrong side of the country!

But then, I came home, stepped out of the airport, smelled that salty, breezy, air; saw my beloved palm trees lining the streets, drove home along the coast looking out at the gorgeous ocean, and thought... "nah, I live in paradise! It would take a lot more than that to get me to leave!" So, long story short, North Carolina was pretty awesome but how can you not love San Diego?!?

One thing that the south does well is biscuits! I have hosted Easter brunch at my house for four years and have tried several different biscuit recipes and just haven't been completely happy with any of them. I just can't get them to rise very tall and get all flaky and buttery. When I was in Charlotte, I happened into Bojangles which is like a KFC type of place in the south. I had the most amazing biscuits ever! I googled copycat recipes and they all called for shortening. To me, using shortening would mean I would lose that delicious buttery taste but I was willing to give it a try. I ended up brushing melted butter over the top a few minutes before they were done baking and sure enough they tasted very buttery. The shortening helped them puff up and I have to say... best biscuits ever! These are so good!

Here is the recipe:

Bojangles Copy Cat Biscuit Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups self-rising flour

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. powdered sugar

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Melted butter (about 1/4 cup)

Directions:

Stir together the flour, baking powder and powdered sugar.

Cut in the shortening until pieces are about the size of grains of rice. Stir in the buttermilk.

Knead a few times; roll out on a floured board or counter top to 1- inch thickness.

Be careful not to work dough too much or add too much flour, or you’ll have dry biscuits. Cut with a round biscuit cutter. Makes 8 biscuits.

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake about 12 minutes in a preheated 450°F oven. Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter and bake about 3 more minutes.

Maple Bacon Cupcakes? Challenge Accepted!

Tomorrow is my friend, Sasha's, birthday and she requested Maple Bacon Cupcakes that she saw on Pinterest. Pinterest is great for broadening horizons, I love a fun new recipe and this was it! Normally when I look at a new recipe I read all of the reviews to see what works and what doesn't, then I edit as needed. This time though, my parents were in town and I didn't have much time so I just made the recipe as is. Not a good idea, those reviews help a TON! The cupcake batter turned out as thick as cookie dough so I had to scoop it into the cups rather than pour it. The flavor was fine but they were very dense and heavy, not light like a cupcake should be. Many of the reviewers said to add a cup of boiling water to the batter which makes sense as I do that with a few other cake recipes so I will do that next time I make them. I edited the recipe to include that.

Other than that, the cupcakes were good! The bacon wasn't weird at all, it didn't really taste bacon-y, you just got a bite with a bit of saltiness every once in a while which was yummy. Overall, I would say this is a keeper. Bacon cupcakes are interesting to say the least and maple and bacon? Essentially this is just breakfast with frosting on top! WIN! 

Maple and Bacon Cupcakes

Cupcakes:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup cake flour

1 3.9-oz. box instant vanilla pudding mix

1 tsp. baking powder

1 Tbs. cornstarch

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

1 stick butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

4 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup half-and-half, at room temperature

1/2 cup chopped cooked bacon (5 strips)

1 cup boing water

Frosting:

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, at room temperature

2 Tbs. butter, at room temperature

6 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tsp. cinnamon

3 strips bacon, cooked and chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Place paper liners in a muffin tin. Combine the flours, pudding mix, baking powder, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a bowl with a whisk.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugars with a mixer on low speed until combined, 6 to 8 minutes. Gradually mix in the vanilla and egg whites. Scrape down the sides of the bowl; continue mixing until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the maple syrup and half-and-half, mixing after each addition and ending with flour. Mix until the ingredients are just combined; do not over mix. Stir in the cup of boiling water. Stir in the bacon.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about three-quarters of the way. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Cool completely.

Frosting:

Beat the cream cheese and butter with a mixer on medium speed until creamy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, maple syrup and cinnamon; beat until combined. Spread on the cooled cupcakes; top with chopped bacon, if desired.