Marbled Spiked White Chocolate Cappuccino

It's been a long time I don't write on my blogger. Now I've got my Facebook official page and everything is easier and faster.
But sometimes I need to :)
The recipe calls for brandy, but I didn't have any so I added 2 teaspoons of Tequila. Since the recipe calls for such a small amount, you could leave it out altogether. Chef Steven Vardy (originally from Beckta) gave a cooking class at the local wine store a few years ago, and this was one of the recipes we got to sample.

Ingredients:
2 cups 2% milk
2 cups half and half
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped
10 ounces of white chocolate (Amedei is recommended)
2 teaspoons of brandy
½ tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
4 cups freshly brewed dark coffee
cocoa powder or grated cocoa nibs, for garnish

Place milk and half and half into a sauce pot. Add scraped vanilla seeds and pod to the pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add white chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Whisk in brandy, vanilla, and almond extract. Strain through a fine sieve to remove vanilla bean. Return to a low heat and whisk until frothy using a hand blender. Divide the coffee into mugs and ladle the white chocolate mixture over. Garnish with a sprinkle of cocoa powder or grated cocoa nibs.

Spiderweb Brownie Cake

In just a couple weeks, Lick The Bowl Good will be celebrating it's 3rd Anniversary. It's hard to believe that it's been that long, but as they say, "time flies when you're having fun!" To help me celebrate, I will be hosting a giveaway from CSN, and it's gonna be good, so stay tuned for it. Ever been to CSN? They have everything from bar furniture to luscious cast iron Staub cocottes at great prices. You can even pick up a springform pan so you can make these Spiderweb Brownies!
Happy Halloween everybody!

Ingredients:
For Brownies:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups Dutch-process cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups chocolate chips, optional
For Spiderweb Mixture:
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon mint or vanilla extract (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180°. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan.
For the brownies: In a medium sized microwave-safe bowl, or in a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat (or microwave) briefly, just until it's hot, but not bubbling; it'll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating this mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.
While the sugar heats a second time, crack the 4 eggs into a bowl, and beat them with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla till smooth.
Add the hot butter/sugar mixture, stirring until smooth.
Add the flour and chips, again stirring until smooth.
Note: If you want the chips to remain intact in the baked brownies, rather than melting in, let the batter cool in the bowl for about 20 minutes before stirring in the chips.

Spread the batter into the pan. 
Bake the brownies for about 30 minutes, (If you use a 9-inch springform pan like I did, then it will take about 50-60 minutes to bake through), until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The brownies should feel set on the edges, and the center should look very moist, but not uncooked. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack before cutting and serving.
For the spiderweb mixture: Combine the cream cheese, sugar and flour in a small bowl, and mix until smooth. Add the egg yolk and flavoring (if using), mixing until smooth once again. Transfer the mixture to a disposable pastry bag, and cut just the very tip off the end, as shown.
Draw a small circle in the center of the brownie batter. Make concentric circles starting from the center and working your way outward, about 1 inch apart =)

Toasted Marshmallow Oreo Brownies

I recently found this yummy recipe on a food blogger regarding cakes and sweets like mine, more or less..
Reading the description, there was one phrase that I liked more than others, and I like to repeat that to this my description: "I hope you'll have an extraordinary day full of the people that matter most in your life. Don't just tell them you love them, show them you love them. THE LOVE OF MY LIFE!"
Thanks for your St. Valentine recipe dear Heather McMullin :)

Ingredients:
2 boxes of Chocolate Brownie Mix
1 Bag big Marshmallows
1 Bag Double Stuffed Oreo Cookies


Mix up brownies according to instructions on the box.

Put just enough brownie mix to cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan, put a layer of Oreos, covering the brownie layer.

Add the rest of the brownie mix, covering the Oreos completely.

Bake brownies.  Take the brownies out 10minutes before they are done and put marshmallows to completely cover the brownies.

Put them back in the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the marshmallows are golden brown.

Double Chocolate Cookie Bars

Came back in London! First recipe of a new hard life! =)

Ingredients:
24 chocolate sandwich cookies
1/4 cup butter, melted
1  can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips 

Preheat the oven to 165°. 
Set aside 6 cookies and grind the rest in a food processor or blender. In a small bowl, stir together the cookie crumbs and butter until well blended. Press into the bottom of an 11x13 inch pan.  (Note: I made a double recipe and used my 12x16 Wilton pan and it fit perfectly. I would think that a 13x9 inch pan would work better for a single recipe?.)
Over a double boiler or in the microwave, melt 1 cup of chocolate chips together with the condensed milk and vanilla. Stir frequently until smooth. Spread evenly over the crumb crust. Sprinkle the remaining cup of chocolate chips over the top. Break remaining cookies into pieces by hand and sprinkle over the top. 
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Bailey's and Brandy Ice Cream

The Bail-out

Julie was the bewitching Irish temptress at the Horseshoe House of the Shelbourne Hotel Dublin who introduced me to this militarily upgraded version of Baileys. Fuel-injected with a double shot of Brandy.
In 2005, when Mrs. O' and I enjoyed a filthy weekend in Brighton, the afternoon was lost consuming double Baileys and Brandy. Brighton certainly rocked because nine months later we had another souvenir to go with the kiss me quick hat and stick of Brighton rock - our son archie.

YOU CAN ENJOY ICECREAMISM ANYWHERE:

AGAINST THE BAR, AGAINST THE WALL AND 

AGAINST THE LAW!

(The IceCreamists)

Monster Pretzel Cookies

Goodbye friends!
This is my way to say you goodbye, and I'm happy that you liked them! 
See ya soon =D

Ingredients:
2-1/2 c. all purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c. light brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 c. milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips
+1-1/2 c. pretzel M&M's

Preheat the oven to 180°. 

Whisk flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium bowl, set aside. Cream together butter and sugars together in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes.
Add eggs individually and beat well after each one. Add vanilla and beat until smooth. On low speed, slowly add in the flour mixture until just combined.
Add peanut butter. Stir in the chocolate chips and M&M's.

Roll into balls and press down on prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake 9-12 minutes or until cookies are slightly golden around the edges. 

Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Galetitas de Canela

I got my cinnamon cravings again this weekend. I found this cookie recipe and i knew that it is the right one.

Ingredients:
125 g unsalted melted butter
300 g all purpose flour
100 g golden sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest from half of the lime
+ground cinnamon

Cream together butter and sugar. add the egg and mix more until the mixture gets creamy. add the vanilla and lemon zest.
Add one third of the flour to the butter mixture and mix it in. repeat the procedure with the other thirds of the flour until you get a dense dough. Prepare the cinnamon.
Take a piece of dough and make a small ball. flatten it a little and cover with cinnamon. 

Place the cookies on a cookie sheet covered with baking parchment; cut a line in each cookie.

Bake them in a preheated oven (175°C) for 15 to 20 minutes.
Take the cookies out of the oven and let them cool down before eating =)