Stella McCartney Inspired Cake

Isn't this cake stunning!? Blogger Apollina was inspired by the "delicious" Spring prints by Stella McCartney and decided to make a tasty citrus cake based on the designs.

You can find her full post & further instructions HERE.

Holy Guacamole... Fries

It's not often I have a vocal reaction toward something I see on the internet. This recipe, however, not only made me shriek "whhhhaaa?!," it managed to place a huge grin across my face. Baked Avocado Fries. Almost sounds too good to be true, right? It's everything I could ever ask for in a recipe (not to mention this is something I can ACTUALLY make with the primitive baking skills I have...) If you can't already tell, I'm pretty flippin' excited to try this out... VIA

Ingredients:

1/4 cup flour
1 tsp kosher salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
2 firm-ripe medium avocados, pitted, peeled, and sliced into 1/2-in. wedges

Directions:

• Slice Avacodo.

• Mix the flour, egg, and panko.

• Place the fries on a drying rack and then on a cookie sheet.

• Spray with olive oil or non-stick spray.

• Bake 20 minutes at 450 degrees.

• Sprinkle with parmesan.

Vinyl Mixer Decals

Something I'm always seeing at thrift stores and flea markets is wonderful vintage kitchen equipment. From crock pots and blenders to mixers and toasters, it's all there. With a little wash down and TLC they can work just as well as the new stuff in stores- sometimes even better if you get the right brands! I purchased a fantastic crock pot for $5 and use it about once a week. It's especially great for when I get my organic produce box. I just throw all my veggies in it, and voila, 5 hours later dinner is served! Why spend all the dough on brand new equipment when the old stuff can do the same thing (generally)? If your momma is the best cook you know, then you know her equipment must have been just fine. But if you want to spruce up the look of her old mixer I found these really cool decals from Wonderfully Wordy. Aren't they just brilliant?

Home Baked Pop Tarts

Smitten Kitchen is an awesome food blog with amazing recipe ideas--- like this: Homemade Pop Tarts! It's been quite a while since I've been excited about pop tarts... they're not my first go-to breakfast choice (anything with jelly-fruit-like-filling doesn't get me too excited) but I am officially excited about the coveted breakfast/dessert of every 10 year-old child once again... I won't even need Sunday morning cartoons to enjoy them :)

INGREDIENTS:

Pastry
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour (you can use whole wheat as well!)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pats
1 large egg + (1 additional egg to brush on pastry)
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) milk

Various Fillings can be found on her site- but I highly recommend cinnamon:

Cinnamon Filling (enough for 9 tarts)
1/2 cup (3 3/4 ounces) brown sugar
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, to taste
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 large egg, to brush on pastry before filling

 

To make cinnamon filling: Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and flour.

Make the dough: Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Work in the butter with your fingers, pastry blender or food processor until pea-sized lumps of butter are still visible, and the mixture holds together when you squeeze it. If you’ve used a food processor, transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Whisk the first egg and milk together and stir them into the dough, mixing just until everything is cohesive, kneading briefly on a well-floured counter if necessary.

Divide the dough in half (approximately 8 1/4 ounces each), shape each half into a smooth rectangle, about 3×5 inches. You can roll this out immediately or wrap each half in plastic and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Assemble the tarts: If the dough has been chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to soften and become workable, about 15 to 30 minutes. Place one piece on a lightly floured work surface, and roll it into a rectangle about 1/8″ thick, large enough that you can trim it to an even 9″ x 12″. [You can use a 9" x 13" pan, laid on top, as guidance.] Repeat with the second piece of dough. Set trimmings aside. Cut each piece of dough into thirds – you’ll form nine 3″ x 4″ rectangles.

Beat the additional egg and brush it over the entire surface of the first dough. This will be the “inside” of the tart; the egg is to help glue the lid on. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each rectangle, keeping a bare 1/2-inch perimeter around it. Place a second rectangle of dough atop the first, using your fingertips to press firmly around the pocket of filling, sealing the dough well on all sides. Press the tines of a fork all around the edge of the rectangle. Repeat with remaining tarts.

Gently place the tarts on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick the top of each tart multiple times with a fork; you want to make sure steam can escape, or the tarts will become billowy pillows rather than flat toaster pastries. Refrigerate the tarts (they don’t need to be covered) for 30 minutes, while you preheat your oven to 350°F.

Bake the tarts: Remove the tarts form the fridge, and bake them for 20 to 25 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown. Cool in pan on rack.

Pop Tart Minis: The biggest struggle I had with these was the size. I actually like my baked goods on the tiny size, thus I think this could make an adorable batch of 16 2 1/4″ x 3″ rectangles.

ENJOY!

Button Cookies

Bakerella had loads of sweet inspiration- and these cookies in particular caught my eye! She calls them her Coraline Cookies that look like little button eyes! She provides a wonderful peanut-butter cookie recipe- but I'm sure you could use any dough you would like. So here's the step-by-step to creating your very own!

1. Roll your cookie dough into small balls. They should fit right inside the top of a bottle cap.

2. Use the same bottle cap to press the cookies down forming a raised outer edge.

3. Use a straw and poke four holes in the center of each cookie. Bake in three batches of fifteen cookies. Keep the remaining dough refrigerated until ready to bake.

4. Now you're buttons are done!

5. Grab a button and dip the top in some of the melted chocolate. Lift and holding over the bowl, shake quickly from left to right to knock off any excess. When you look at the coated side, the chocolate will look kind of clumpy. To smooth it out, turn the button right side up and swirl your hand in a circular motion. The coating will even out smoothly.

6. And you’ll end up with a bunch of cute chocolate-covered buttons.