Category Archives: Adventures in Baking

Feb 14 2013
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Adventures in Baking, We Eat Well

Valentine’s Day Red Velvet Brownies

photo 2

Today marks the first of our monthly potlucks at work, and since it’s Valentine’s day, I decided to whip up these decadent Red Velvet Brownies with cream cheese frosting. I love red velvet EVERYTHING, so when I ran across a few recipes for brownies, I knew I had to make them. This recipe actually combines a few different recipes and the result is outstanding. Fudgy, gooey, velvety brownies, which are complemented with the creamy and rich cream cheese frosting. I topped mine with some red sugar sprinkles and a cherry M&M. Mmmmmm so good. And guess what? Easy too!

photo 1

Ingredients for the brownies:

  • 1 box red velvet cake mix
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
  • red sugar sprinkles

Ingredients for the frosting

  • 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 2 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put cake mix the bowl of a mixer, and oil and egg and mix well. Add the milk slowly, just until the batter is combined. Mix in chocolate chips. The batter will be extremely dense. Spoon batter into a greased and floured 9 x 13 brownie pan, using a spatula to spread it out. Bake for 29 minutes. Let cool for at least 60 minutes before cutting and frosting because the gooey center needs to set.

In the meantime, prepare the frosting. Beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add vanilla and sugar  and continue beating until creamy.

Once brownies have cooled, cut into squares. Using a metal spoon, plop frosting onto each piece. Because the tops of the brownies are pretty flaky, trying to spread the frosting will only make a mess. I found plopping to work best. Top with red sugar sprinkles and a cherry M&M.

photo 3

 

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Feb 04 2013
4 Comments
Adventures in Baking, We Eat Well

Healthy Banana Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

Banana Oatmeal Coconut cookie

My new training regime requires me to concentrate on healthy eating- but that doesn’t mean I don’t still crave sweets. I was stoked when I found this healthy cookie recipe. Just 78 calories for 2, these cookies satisfy my sweet tooth without busting my diet.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 banana, very ripe
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup flour, fluffed to aerate before measuring
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups oatmeal (old-fashioned or quick)
  • 1 cup coconut, preferably unsweetened

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a small dish in the microwave, 10 seconds at a time. Transfer to mixing bowl. Thoroughly mix in sugars, banana, eggs and vanilla. Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix in banana mixture. Mix in oatmeal and coconut. Drop dough my tablespoons onto baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake for 13 minutes until set and golden. Cool 5 minutes and remove from tray to cooling rack.

 

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Jan 28 2013
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Adventures in Baking, We Eat Well

Chocolate Covered Oreos

White Chocolate Oreos

While brainstorming what to take to a birthday party last weekend, I decided to try my hand making chocolate covered Oreos. I’ve played around with chocolate covered treats before- cake pops and fruit- and it’s incredibly easy. These Oreos are quick and sinfully delicious. Did you know they make Mint and Strawberry Oreos? What a treat! I used white chocolate for the Strawberry Oreos and milk chocolate for the Mint Oreos. So, so yummy!

Milk Chocolate oreos

Ingredients

  • 1 package white chocolate candy coating
  • 1 package milk chocolate candy coating
  • 1 package (30) Strawberry Oreos
  • 1 package (30) Mint Oreos
  • Rainbow sprinkles

Preparation

Place white chocolate candy coating in microwave safe bowl and heat until softened. Dip Strawberry Oreos in chocolate, allowing excess to drip, and then place on parchment paper. Apply rainbow sprinkles immediately. Repeat until all Oreos are covered and sprinkled. Allow them to harden 10-15 minutes before serving.

Repeat above process with milk chocolate and Mint Oreos.

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Jan 09 2013
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Adventures in Baking, We Eat Well

Baked Cinnamon Donuts with Orange Glaze

Cinnamon Orange Glazed Donuts

A few months ago, I started pinning donuts recipes obsessively, but I didn’t have a donut pan. I added it to my Christmas list and I am now the proud owner of my very own donut pan! Today I tried it out for the first time by making Baked Cinnamon Donuts. After the first round, I really got the hang of it. I found it easier to spoon the batter into the pan, rather than pouring from a bowl or mixing cup. Also, filling the cups 1/2 full, rather than 3/4 full created more aesthetically pleasing “skinnier” donuts, in my opinion. I created my own glaze, using powered sugar, orange extract and milk. This is definitely a fun project, and I cannot wait to try more donut and glaze flavors.

Cinnamon Orange Glazed Donuts 2

Ingredients:

Donuts-

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 1/4 cups whole milk
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Glaze-

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon orange extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons milk

Preparation:

For the donuts: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use a non-stick spray or butter to coat the donut pan.

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a mixing bowl.

Whisk together the egg, milk, melted butter and vanilla extract in a medium bowl or liquid measuring cup. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Fill the wells of the doughnut pans a bit 1/2 full with the batter. Bake for 17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the wall of a donut comes out clean and the doughnuts are puffed and lightly browned. Let them cool (in the pans) for 5 minutes, then gently invert the donuts onto a cooling rack.

While the doughnuts are cooling, make the glaze: Whisk together powdered sugar, orange extract, vanilla extract, and milk until desired consistency is achieved.

Once the donuts are cool, dip each one into the glaze and place on parchment paper to dry. Sprinkle with desired topping and enjoy!

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Jan 02 2013
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Adventures in Baking, We Eat Well

Girl’s Day: good friends, cheap wine, and fresh-baked cookies

It’s not often that I set aside time to spend with my girlfriends. Between my full-time job, volunteer activities, freelance writing, housekeeping and spending time with Jon, my hands are full, but last weekend, I devoted an entire day to spending time with friends. The plan was to get together to bake, watch movies, and hang out in our jammies. We ended up drinking more wine than anything else, but I had such a wonderful time. Every girl needs girlfriends. Thank you Christie and Amber for being mine. Oh, we let Clyde hang out with us too. He’s just too cute to exclude.

We did manage to bake two kinds of cookies. The recipes are below. Enjoy!

Photos by Amber Sturgis.

Brown Sugar Blueberry Cookies with Almonds and Coconut, The Ginger Kitchen- 7/6/11

Holiday Peppermint Cookies, Cooks.com

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Dec 31 2012
6 Comments
Adventures in Baking, Asian Inspired, Ice Cream, Local Eateries, Recker-mendation, We Eat Well, We Live Well

The Best of 2012, a series of top five lists

2012 was another good food year for us in the Ginger Kitchen. Though we didn’t cook as much as we usually do because of hectic schedules, we still managed to create some winners.

Here are some stats from our year of blogging:

  • We blogged 77 times and had 16,000 views.
  • Facebook remains our top referrer, with Twitter and Pinterest coming in second and third respectively.
  • Folks from 107 countries visited our site.
  • Our top commenters were Sara, Andy, and Wendy.
  • The busiest day of the year was December 28, with 437 views.

Thanks for a great year. To ring in the New Year, here are our top five dishes, followed by our top five desserts, and top five Recker-mendations.

Top 5 Dishes

1- Sweet Potato Dijon Veggie Burgers with Avocado

Spotted first on Pinterest, this “burger” was a real crowd pleaser and we’ve made it several times since. Beef tends to sit like a rock in my stomach, so this lighter alternative was a welcome addition to our line up this year.

sweet-potato-burger

2- Salmon Bulgogi with Bok Choy and Kale

Every once in awhile, I throw together a simply scrumptious dish. I count this Salmon dish as one of my great successes in the kitchen this year. I especially love when a dish incorporates fresh veggies and herbs from our garden. This one uses chives and bok choy from out back.

salmon

3- Gouda Bacon Burger with Avocado

Jon whipped up this one from his own imagination while grocery shopping and it had fallen off my radar until now. I think I need to ask him to make this again soon! The combination of tangy dressing, crunchy onions and smooth avocado is simply heavenly.

gouda-bacon-burger

4- Thai Shrimp Curry

We tend to prepare many Asian inspired dishes, but this one is my favorite from this year. Packed with spices, this dish leaves nothing to be desired. It’s simply perfect in my book.

thai-shrimp-3-19-12

5- Creamed Chicken with Corn and Bacon over Polenta

Last but certainly not least, this comfort dish wowed me when Jon made it. Though it’s a bit labor intensive, it’s worth it in my opinion. The tender chicken and creamy polenta, coupled with the savory spices and bacon, give it an A+ rating.

polenta-3-18-12

Top 5 Desserts

1- Buttermilk Chocolate Cookies

My love/hate relationship with Jon’s baking continued this year. These were definitely hard to resist- soft, chewy, chocolatey… so, so, good.

brownie-cookies

2- Maple Ice Cream with Walnuts & Raisins

This is one of many ice creams we made this year as we experimented with different flavors. This is one of my faves. The sweet, creamy base is delicious, and the toasted walnuts and raisins complement it well.

maple-walnut-ice-cream1

3- Red Velvet Cake Truffles

I’ve long been fascinated by the rise in popularity of  cake pops and cake balls (I hate this name- that’s why I call them truffles). I assumed they’d be too difficult to make, but I tried my hand at them and absolutely love making them. They aren’t as difficult as they look and the result is always pleasing. I shared these with a handful of folks and received rave reviews.

red velvet cake truffles

4- Oatmeal Scotchies with Coconut and Orange

Jon took oatmeal scotchies to a new level when he added orange and coconut. You must try these. Really. You won’t regret it.

oatmeal scotchies

5- Cinnamon Raisin Stuffed Baked Apples

It’s amazing how simple some dishes can be. This one is no exception and the result is mouthwatering. Add this to your list of dishes to impress dinner guests.

baked apples

Top 5 Recker-mendations

1- Banh Mi Barista

2012 will be a memorable year if for no other reason than Banh Mi Barista opened. At first bite, I knew it would become a favorite, and not a week has gone by since that I haven’t stopped in. If you haven’t tried it yet, I encourage you to do so immediately. They are continually expanding their menu and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2013.

Banh Mi Barista viet-special

2- Dig IN- A Taste of Indiana (Recap)

Easily one of my favorite culinary experiences this year, Dig IN was so much fun. I was chosen to be a Gastronaut and gained early entrance into the event. Though it was hot and grew increasingly crowded as the day wore on, we managed to try most of the dishes we had our eye on. I can’t wait to do it again in 2013.

8-duck-pie

3- Cerulean

Because Cerulean is located at Winona Lake, we don’t get to enjoy it nearly enough. I am glad Jon and I made a trip there this summer. The place offers such a unique dining experience- the perfect place to spend an afternoon, sharing food and enjoying the company of friends.

cerulean

4- Friday Nights at Old Crown

Old Crown continued their Friday night dinners and we’ve gone several times. It’s definitely the best $15 meal you will find in town- and the menu changes every week, which is exciting. You never know what will be served, but there’s always something impressive and delicious. If you plan to go, call ahead for reservations- the place fills up quickly.

old crown halibut

5- Eddie Merlot’s- Dinner Menu and Lounge Menu

We enjoyed our experiences at Eddie’s so much, we blogged about it twice, featuring the Lounge Menu and the Dinner Menu. If you haven’t been to Eddie’s in awhile, we recommend you try it soon. If you think it’s a little too rich for your blood, check out the Lounge menu. It’s affordable and loaded with good food.

Eddie's Elk

Heading into 2013, our focus will turn towards our fledgling gourmet ice cream business and you’ll soon see more posts about that. The format for the blog will likely change as well. Stay tuned, and thanks for all of your support this year. Happy New Year foodies. Thanks so much for being a part of our year.

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Nov 25 2012
3 Comments
Adventures in Baking, We Eat Well

Flourless Chocolate Cake… a colossal kitchen fail

I’ve had my fair share of kitchen fails. There was the time I tried to make a “quick & easy” weeknight meal recipe from the crescent roll tube. To this day, I have to think only momentarily of that deli turkey and crescent roll pizza to throw up in my mouth a little. Then there was the time I tried to make hard boiled eggs and boiled them for close to 6 hours waiting for them to float. I don’t know where I got the idea that I had to boil them until they floated, but the idea was there, and thus I created the greyest, rubberiest hard boiled eggs to ever exist. And Jon ate them. We hadn’t been dating long. He probably wouldn’t be that nice now.

Add to this list of colossal kitchen fails the flourless chocolate cake I attempted to make this weekend. It’s not my fault, really. It’s been pinned and tweeted and retweeted and shared. It was touted as the best cake EVER by the original blogger, so I’ve been looking forward to trying this magical 2 ingredient, flourless chocolate cake made with only eggs and nutella for weeks.

It didn’t work out. Not only did it not set up properly, but it tasted terrible, as well. Imagine flan. Okay, flan has its merits. Flan has its place, but not in my kitchen. Now imagine flan that tastes like a hazelnut flavored tire. That’s what you can expect if you make this magical cake. Don’t do it. Don’t get sucked in like I did. I had such high hopes for it, even after several bites. I wanted it to be good. Blech. I hope I can get this taste out of my mouth.

Moral(s) of the story: Not everything on Pinterest tastes as good as it looks. And if it seems too good to be true (a 2-ingredient chocolate cake!), it probably is.

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Oct 25 2012
3 Comments
Adventures in Baking, We Eat Well

Butterscotch Fudge with Marshmallows and Nutella

Every once in awhile, I stumble upon a recipe that just screams “MAKE ME, PLEASE!” This is one such recipe. If you are looking for something that is incredibly easy to make to wow your co-workers, family, and friends, this is it. It looks harder to make than it is, I promise. The result? A rich, flavor packed snack sure to please the pickiest of eaters. I mean really, who doesn’t like Nutella, or marshmallows for that matter?

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups butterscotch chips
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/4 cup Nutella
  • 1/4 cup marshmallow cream

Preparation:

Place butterscotch chips in a medium sauce pan and pour sweetened condensed milk over them. Over low heat, melt the butterscotch and condensed milk together, stirring constantly until smooth and pulling away from the edges of the pot. Pour into a wax paper lined 8×8 baking dish. Use zip top baggies to pipe the Nutella and marshmallow cream over the top of the fudge. Swirl in with a knife. Chill in the refrigerator to set for at least an hour.

*Place the Nutella and marshmallow cream in the baggies before you begin heating the butterscotch and milk. We discovered that putting the baggie in a cup made it easier to get the Nutella and marshmallows into it. Cut a small hole in the bottom corner of each baggie in order to do the piping. 

 

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Oct 09 2012
3 Comments
Adventures in Baking, We Eat Well

Carrot Cake Truffles

Ever since I made red velvet cake truffles, my coworkers have been begging me to make some more, so I thought I’d try carrot cake truffles this time. I took the easy route and used a carrot cake mix. I don’t think it would be worth the effort to make a carrot cake only to crumble it up and make cake truffles out of it. These are much simpler to make than they look, they just take patience if you want them to look pretty. I am pleased with how they turned out. My friend Steve Penhollow even broke his 6-month dessert fast to try one and said it was worth it.

Ingredients:

  • 1 box of carrot cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
  • 1 container of cream cheese frosting
  • 1 packages of melting chocolate
  • 1/4 cup coconut and chopped walnuts

Preparation:

Prepare cake according to package instructions. Allow cake to cool completely. Once cooled, cut off any hard or crusty edges. Crumble cake with your hands in a large bowl until it is broken down and fine. Mix in 1 container of cream cheese icing. I found it easiest to use my hands to do this even though it was extremely messy. Mix icing and cake until it has reached a consistency of a nice, even dough. Roll the mixture into 1/2 inch balls using your hands and place in the freezer until chilled but not frozen.

Melt chocolate according to instructions on the package. I used the microwave and it worked fine, but others may prefer a double broiler method. Once the chocolate is melted, remove the balls from the freezer and dunk them one by one into the chocolate until covered. This process is a bit tricky, but I discovered it’s easiest to dunk the balls in the chocolate and remove with a small fork, allowing the excess chocolate to drain off before placing them on a a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper until hardened. If you want to add embellishments to your truffles (I used coconut and walnuts), you must do so immediately or the chocolate will harden and they won’t stick.

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Jun 04 2012
1 Comment
Adventures in Baking, We Eat Well

Buttermilk Chocolate Cookies

I have a love/hate relationship with Jon’s baking. I love it because the results are always so good. I hate it because then I can’t resist eating more than my fair share. These Buttermilk Chocolate Cookies are no exception- soft, chewy, chocolatey- they basically have everything you need. The addition of the walnuts adds a delightful crunch. Careful, these cookies are truly you-can’t-eat-just-one caliber.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup buttermilk2 cups white chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup crushed walnuts
Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Melt the butter in a small, microwave safe bowl. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter (still warm) with cocoa powder and whisk until very smooth. Whisk in sugar, vanilla extract and buttermilk. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop dough in 1-inch balls onto prepared baking sheet, leaving about two inches between cookies to allow for spread. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies are set around the edges.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

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