Stephanies Kitchen – Cooking, Sweets, Blog, Desserts

Strawberry Swirl Mini Cheesecakes

May 9, 2011 By Steph 2 Comments

Hello friends! Need something sweet? I have got just the thing for you. Strawberry Swirl Mini Cheesecakes. My. Oh. My. These are divine. I used my Mini Cheesecake Pan that I bought from Williams Sanoma a couple of years ago, but if you don’t have one (you need to go out and buy one right now!) just use your mini cupcake pan, a regular cupcake pan or just make one big cheesecake. So tasty. And cute. Happy Monday!

Strawberry Swirl Mini Cheesecakes
makes about 18

For the strawberry sauce:
1 16 ounce container of frozen strawberries, thawed, in syrup
2 teaspoons corn starch

Place strawberries and corn starch in a blender or food processor and pulse until smooth. Place in a small saucepan over medium heat and heat until it boils. Stir until thickened and then take off of heat and let cool.

For the crust:
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons granulated sugar

Mix all together and press 1 tablespoon of mixture into a greased mini cheesecake pan, (or mini cupcake pan, or regular cupcake pan (use 2 tablespoons for that) or press entire mixture into a regular sized springform pan). (Remember to spray pans well) Pat down firm and bake at 350 degrees for about 7-8 minutes. (More if you are using larger pans) Just until lightly golden.

For the cheesecake:
2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
zest of 1 lemon

Cream the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add vanilla. Add eggs one at a time until well incorporated. Mixture should be smooth and creamy. Fill already baked crusts with 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese batter. Top with 1/2 tablespoon of the strawberry sauce and using a knife, gently cut the strawberry sauce into the cheesecakes. Bake at 300 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until centers are set. Cool for 10 minutes in pan and then gently take out and let cool completely. Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. Top with remaining strawberry sauce.

Filed Under: cakes, cupcakes, desserts, fruit

Orange Zested Cookies w/ Sweet Orange Glaze

May 3, 2011 By Steph 24 Comments

I live in Utah. I think it is written in the Utah Code that it must always snow on or a day before May 1st. Never fails. So one day it will be 72 degrees and the next the gardens are frozen and we have inches of snow on the ground. I don’t get it. Doesn’t seem right to me, but I choose to live here so I must live with it, right? I am most definitely looking forward to bright and sunny days ahead.

So as I sit there and watch the snow flakes fall, I crave spring, I crave summer. Nothing says spring or summer like citrus. Am I right? I made a version of these cookies using lemon zest and lemon juice. They were delightful. Perfect texture, perfect tangy lemon-ness. Didn’t get those photographed, but I was craving them again so I decided to switch them up a bit and use fresh oranges instead. I have to say, they were amazing. I think oranges seem to get a little neglected in the baking world. They are an amazing fruit, and they make amazing cookies. Give them a try and brighten up your day!

Orange Zested Cookies w/ Sweet Orange Glaze

makes about 2-3 dozen (depending on the size)

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons orange zest
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 egg

For the glaze:
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest
fresh orange juice

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and orange zest. Rub together with your fingers until zest is throughout the sugar. The sugar will become moist from the oils being released. Using a mixer, cream the butter and orange zested sugar. Add egg and orange juice. Slowly add the dry ingredients until well incorporated. At this point you can chill for an hour or so or overnight. I was impatient and baked them! Scoop onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and roll into smooth round balls. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes or until very lightly golden on the bottoms. Don’t overbake or they will be a bit to dry and lose the perfect texture.

Mix the confectioners’ sugar, orange zest and enough orange juice to get a glaze consistency and mix until smooth and creamy. Pour glaze over the tops of the cookies and let set.

Feel free to mix up the citruses. Use lemons or limes instead of oranges, or use some of each. Delicious!

Filed Under: cookies, desserts, fruit, lemon

And The Winner Is…..

May 2, 2011 By Steph Leave a Comment

We have a winner folks. So wish I could give them to all of you. Thanks again for all who entered! Here is the lucky winner:

True Random Number Generator

Min: 1

Max: 84

Result:

Judi says:

April 26, 2011 at 6:42 pm

Oh, yes….I’ll take some chocolate!

Congrats Judi! Send me your address so I can get those chocolates out to you ASAP!

Thanks again everyone!

Filed Under: giveaway

Chocolatey Pirate Cupcakes

April 29, 2011 By Steph 3 Comments

My sweet little boy turned 4 on Wednesday. Time has flown by soooo fast. These are his Pirate Birthday Cupcakes. He is incredibly obsessed with Pirates right now. It might have something to do with my Husband letting him watch Pirates of the Caribbean a while ago. My 6 year old girl had nightmares for weeks and my son begs to watch it everyday. Different than night and day those two.

I thought I would post both a simple Chocolate cupcake recipe and a simple Vanilla cupcake recipe since I get requests all the time for just that. I have a couple of recipes for both deep in the archives, but these two are recipes that I have tweeked and perfected over time. Perfect go-to recipes that will turn out every time. I have mentioned this before, but these recipes call for Cake Flour. I never buy cake flour. I simply add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch per 1 cup all purpose flour and voila, cake flour! A little tip from me to you!

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for the Belgian Chocolate!!! Simply post a comment (before May 2nd) on the Giveaway Post (click here). (Not on this post, the previous post!!!!) I will announce the winner Monday, May 2nd. You don’t want to miss it!!

Onto the recipes:

Chocolate Cupcakes
recipe makes 24 cupcakes

2 1/4 cups cake flour (or use all purpose flour and add 1 tablespoon cornstarch per 1 cup flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cups oil
1 cup cold water
1/2 cup sour cream

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cocoa and sugar. Set aside. Using a mixer, mix together the eggs, vanilla, oil, water and sour cream. Slowly add the dry ingredients until well incorporated. Scoop into 24 muffin cups lined with papers. Bake at 350 degrees for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Vanilla Cupcakes
recipe makes 24 cupcakes

2 1/4 cups cake flour (or use all purpose flour and add 1 tablespoon cornstarch per 1 cup flour)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or use a vanilla bean)
2/3 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sour cream

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Using a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and sour cream. Alternate between adding the dry ingredients and the milk and mix until well incorporated. Scoop into 24 muffin cups lined with papers. Bake at 350 degrees for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Have an awesome and delicious weekend!

Filed Under: chocolate, cupcakes, desserts, giveaway

Caramel Marshmallow S’more Pops and a Giveaway…

April 26, 2011 By Steph 88 Comments

I hope you all had a great Easter. I ate way too much. Stuffed my face full of amazing food. As I always do.. My Mom and I made these in between cooking Ham and Potatoes. Marshmallows covered in smooth caramel, dipped in mixed nuts (mine were dipped in coarsely chopped graham crackers) and then slathered in chocolate. You really can’t go wrong. Get creative. Package them up and give them as gifts or just eat them all by yourself while sitting in front of the T.V watching The Biggest Loser. (I have never done that, I’m just sayin….)

This is the Marshmallow Pop w/Caramel and Mixed Nuts

What you will need:

Sucker Sticks
Large Marshmallows
Melted Caramel
Chopped up Mixed nuts (we used pecans and almonds)
Graham Crackers, coarsely chopped
Melted Chocolate of your choice
Parchment Paper placed on a cookie sheet
Cooking spray

1. Stick your marshmallows on your sticks (we did 4 but that made them HUGE)
2. Dip the marshmallows in the melted caramel. (If you over dip, your topping will slide off, so be easy on the caramel and let it drip off a bit before you go to the next step)
3. Roll the marshmallows in the toppings of your choice
4. Place onto the parchment paper and refrigerate for about 20 minutes to help the caramel harden.
5. Dip the marshmallows in the melted chocolate and place back on the parchment paper until the chocolate sets.
6. Try not to eat every single one before you have a chance to share.

And now onto the giveaway!!!

I was contacted by Guylian Artisanal Belgian Chocolate a while ago and asked if I would like to receive a sample of there decedent Belgian Chocolate to try. Um…what kind of girl would turn that down? Not me. It was like Christmas morning when I opened up the large box to reveal the amazing chocolate inside. Wow. They did not let me down. It was amazing chocolate. Best I ever had. Honestly.

Would you like a chance to try their chocolate for free? Well they are giving you a chance to do just that. A sample of there amazing chocolate will be shipped to your door. Here is how to enter for the chance:

Just leave a comment on this post. For additional entries:

1) Become a Stephanie’s Kitchen follower on Facebook

2) Become a Stephanie’s Kitchen follower on Twitter

3) Blog, tweet or facebook about this giveaway and leave me the link in the comments

Make sure to leave your email address if it’s not already linked up to that I can contact you if you are the lucky winner!

Good luck! You have until Sunday May 1st at 11:59 p.m to enter and I will announce the winner May 2nd.

Filed Under: candy, chocolate, desserts, giveaway, no bake desserts, reviews