"Choc-wate, pweeze?"

I know that brownies have very little to do with Thanksgiving, but the boys in my family love to eat them.  I have posted about brownies both here and here, all of the cocoa variety as I am too cheap to buy the literal pound of chocolate some require.  For me, brownies are a quick project.  They are soul food; belonging to the same category as mashed potatoes, meatloaf, and all things Sunday afternoon.  I whip up a batch of brownies when my husband starts perusing our sweet-less pantry with a wilted look- when my son so sweetly looks up at me and says with a crooked grin, "choc-wate?"  I make them when I am up to my elbows in sweet potato, and I worry as my husband has received no love from our oven.

"Choc-wate, Pweeze?"

So here you go, another brownie post: so simple and nearly a guaranteed success, even for those of you who are box addicts.

Hershey's Best Brownies

Hershey's Best Brownies
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 c ap flour
1/4 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup of whatever you want to dump in there ( I put in mini peanut butter cups)

Preheat the oven to 350.  Butter an 8x8 pan (sometimes I use a cake pan).  Set aside.

In a bowl, mix together the butter, sugar, and vanilla.  With a wooden spoon, incorporate the eggs.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.  Add them to the butter mixture, and stir just until mixed.  Fold in your nuts, chocolate chips, or whatever else you want to put in there.
Spread into the prepared pan, and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let them cool in the pan.  Cut and serve.

Hershey's Best Brownies

Delicious.  Enjoy, and tomorrow there will be something  bit more... Thanksgiving-y.

Rachel Bee

One last valiant effort...

I really must say that I am not a huge fan of sweet potato, or cooked orange veggies in general.  I don't care for the sweetness, nor do I really care for the texture.  The little fibers that run back and forth across the flesh of a sweet potato I find to be revolting as my teeth cut through them individually.  We never had sweet potatoes growing up, so I am going to assume that my parents don't care for them either.

Now, as the vegetable has received so much glory in recent years, believe me- I have tried to stomach them.  I have tried them roasted with exorbitant amounts of butter, cinnamon, and sugar.  I have tried them deep-fried with gallons of ketchup.  I have even pureed them with heavy cream to see if maybe, just maybe there is one circumstance when I could swallow them without grimace.  

In one final, valiant effort, I pureed a large roasted sweet potato and subbed it in for pumpkin in my Pumpkin Spice Cake.  One bite of this tender cake and... sold.  Top it with Brown Sugar Toasted Marshmallow Frosting, and call it "pretty darn palatable."  

Oh, and did I mention it was a purple sweet potato?

Purple Sweet Potato Puree

Yes, God's makes purple sweet potatoes, and above is the actual sweet potato puree mixed with some buttermilk.  Wow.  And here it is in cupcake form...

Purple Sweet Potato Cupcakes

The cake was a bit more purple when I baked it, but it oxidized overnight (which was awfully disappointing).  Regardless, I think it is still pretty pleasant on the eyes...

Purple Sweet Potato Cupcakes

With Candied Pecans

And for a finishing touch, I candied a handful of pecans.  Good decision, I think...

Purple Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Toasted Brown Sugar Marshmallow Frosting

I found my purple sweet potato at the Fresh Market, which is an upscale although not necessarily natural grocery store.  I am sure regular orange sweet potatoes will be just fine!

Purple Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Toasted Brown Sugar Marshmallow Frosting and Candied Pecans

(should make @16)

For the cake:

1 purple sweet potato, roasted (enough to make 1 cup of puree)

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 t vanilla extract

1 stick of unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 cups ap flour

1/4 cup corn starch 

1 t soda

1/2 t kosher salt

1/4 t baking powder

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t ground ginger

1/4 t ground nutmeg or cloves

Puree 1 cup of the sweet potato with the buttermilk and vanilla.  Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350.  Put liners in muffin tins.

Cream the brown sugar with the butter until fluffy, scraping the bowl down on occasion.  

Add the eggs one at a time, beating completely into the batter.  

In a separate bowl, sift together all of the dry ingredients.  Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the puree. BEGIN AND END WITH THE DRY!  Really scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl between additions.  You don't want beige streaks in your cupcakes.

When the ingredients are fully incorporated, fill the muffin cups all the way to the top.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, and put individual cakes on a cooling rack immediately.  

For the Frosting...

6 egg whites

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4+1/8 t cream of tartar

2 t vanilla paste or extract

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a double-boiler), mix the sugar with the egg whites.  Place the bowl over a simmering pot of water, and stir constantly until a candy thermometer reads 160 degrees.  Pull from the heat, and beat on high.  Sprinkle in the cream of tartar, and beat for 6-7 minutes.  The frosting should be ultra-stiff at this point.  Add the vanilla, and blend to incorporate.  

Pile the frosting on the cooled cupcakes, and singe the exterior with a kitchen torch.  

Top with...

Candied Pecans!

1/2-1/4 of an egg white

@1/4 cup brown sugar

pinch of cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of whatever other spices you want to throw in there...

pinch of kosher salt

1/2 cup pecan halves

Combine the egg white, sugar, salt, and spices in a small bowl to make a viscous syrup.  Toss in the pecans and stir to coat.  Pour onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper, and spread out until even.  Put in a oven preheated to 275, and bake for 15 minutes.  When they cooled, I broke them apart and placed a few on each cupcake.  And a few in my mouth.  

Yum.  Enjoy!

The mellifluous voice of Josh Groban (she says with disdain)...

Saturday morning I went into work all too early (6:45 to be exact).  I have a sweet group of clients from out of town, and when one of these young women come my way, I do anything I can to accommodate her.

I walked in the door, stumbling around and flipping on lights.  Towels are stocked, sinks are clean, and  foils are torn; but before I ran to unlock the door, I flipped on the radio and heard (to my horror) the mellifluous voice of Josh Groban singing "Oh Holy Night."  Taken aback immediately, I swept a bit, considering that perhaps it was only a taste of the holidays- a precursor if you will as it is only November 12.  As Josh belted his final note, I waited with bated breath to see if my gut held an accurate feeling- but no.  Mariah Carey.  "Wha, oh-oh.  Yeah-ee-yeah yeah.  Ooh ooh... (drums build) Christmaah...s"

Immediately I felt old.  I remembered the years when Christmas seemed so impossibly far away, when in April I would think, "If I had a choice right now, I wish time would move backwards so that Christmas gets here sooner."  Now, all I felt Saturday morning was disdain and panic.  What's today?  When is Christmas?  When is Thanksgiving?  Have I ordered a turkey?  Can I find more people to come over and eat it?  What am I getting P for Christmas?  NOOOOOOO!

So it is officially begun. I have sworn off any feelings of "bah-humbug," and my mind is full of all things red and green, spices and peppermint.  I usually hand-make gifts for my girlfriends, but I could not be bothered to knit right now.  My friends are getting jewelry!

And here is another example...

I have a pile of necklaces that I have made, and I may show you a few more later.  I might even show you how to make one.  Wouldn't that be fun?

So pop in "Elf," or "White Christmas," or whatever gets you in that Chrsitmas mood, and start making something of your own for the holidays.

Rachel Bee

Pumpkin Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Again.  Again I have raging allergic aversions.  At least I think that is what is going on.  Moral of the story is to not skip a workout to clean out a closet that hasn't been cleaned out in four years.  At least not without a mask.  But here, as promised, is the recipe for my Pumpkin Apple Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Make them, have someone else make them- and eat them all until they are gone.  Amen.

Pumpkin Apple Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 t vanilla
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t kosher salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t ginger
1/8 t cloves
1/2 cup buttermilk, sour cream, or plain greek yogurt
1 Large Granny Smith Apple, chopped into 1/2" cubes
2 T granulated sugar + 2 t cinnamon + 1 t flour

Preheat he oven to 350.  Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners.

Cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy (this can take up to 8-10 minutes).  Add the eggs one at a time, fully incorporating into the batter.  Stir in the pumpkin and vanilla.  Yes, your batter just became nearly curdled-looking.  Do not worry.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.  Add to the batter alternatively with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour.  Your batter should no longer look curdled.  Be sure to scrape the sides and bottoms of the bowl between additions.

Chop up the apple and toss in the sugar/flour/cinnamon mixture.  Fold into the batter.  Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, almost to the top (these do not rise much).  Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until done.

Cream Cheese Frosting
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened but still cool
8 oz cream cheese, softened but still cool
3.5 cups powdered sugar
1 t vanilla extract
pinch of kosher salt

Beat the butter and cream cheese together until no longer lumpy.  Sift the powdered sugar into the mixture, and mix until combined.  Add the vanilla and salt, and mix again.  For fluffier frosting, you can beat for 3-5 minutes, but note that it will be full of small air bubbles and therefore not quite as pretty for frosting.

Frost after cooling completely, and decorate as desired.  I topped mine with Pumpkin Spice Hershey's Kisses and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Enjoy!

Halloween alternatives and baking in jars...

I told myself I would work out this morning, so at 4:00 AM I rose and threw on my workout clothes.  An hour later I sit here with half a slice of cake in my belly, and a very well organized closet.

And I am frustrated.  I want to work out, but the idea of giving an hour and a half of my day away to Tony Horton seems inexcusable.  There is simply too much to do.

Yesterday was Halloween, and it has received a cold shoulder from my family for a few decades.  We grew up as Christians, and my church always had a Halloween alternative.  In previous years we called it "Hallelujah Night," but in the the effort to make the peculiar seem less so, most churches simply call it a "Fall Festival."  My father is the children's pastor at my church, and he did an exquisite job with this year's event.  In times past we dressed up as Bible Characters, but now kids can dress up as just about anything tasteful.  Besides, there aren't very many notable female examples in the Bible (Ruth, Esther, Lydia, Rachel, etc.), and their costumes all look the same, generally speaking.

All games and candy aside, Halloween was something very different for our family, as it is also my little brother's birthday.  He lives in Washington DC, and this year he turned the very big 30.  I miss him desperately, and knowing he likes cake I decided to send him some.

My son and I are huge fans of Bonne Maman preserves, and the empty jars make great drinking glasses. To my husband's lament, I snagged four and baked some cake in them.

Yes, I baked cake right inside old jelly jars (le gasp! I called bonne maman "jelly").  You can bake cake in just about anything glass, and mason jars are quite popular as well.

But with no mason jars on hand, my Bonne Maman jars would have to do.   Here is a picture of them capped and ready to go.

I made some cupcakes with the remaining batter, stuck one in the mailbox, but can't figure out what to do with the rest.

I am sure I can find someone to eat them.  Pumpkin Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Shouldn't be a problem.

Happy Birthday Frankie.  Hey.  Hope you like pumpkin.  I needed to use it up.

Recipe tomorrow...

Rachel Bee

Wardrobe malfunctions and mishaps... and a knitted hat pattern!

Yesterday I got ready for work in the usual way, after running my ensemble through a few points of criteria.*

1.  Cleanliness: What is clean?
2.  Thickness:  What did I eat the night/day before?
3.  Season: What is the technical season?
4.  Temperature:  Uh... temperature.  Average temperature.
5.  Whimsy:  How creative do I want to be?
6.  Wild card:  Do I have anything new; have I put on some committal makeup?

And this is how I answered these questions...

1.  I just did laundry.  Everything is clean.  Information overload.
2.  Despite finishing P90x, I gained about 5 lbs. this summer.  And no, it was not muscle weight.  It was rear-not-fitting-into-pants weight.  I have lost half of it, so I am feeling OK there.
3.  It is technically fall.  No white pants, strappy sandals, etc.
4.  It felt like summer.  Not hot summer, but summer.
5.  I was feeling moderately whimsical, but not brave.  Maybe a necklace or funky shoes.
6.  Yes!  I have a skirt a friend gave me, and I need to wear it before it gets too cold.

So the winner was a white v-neck t-shirt tucked into said skirt, a necklace with a large ribbon charm, and some cute Irregular Choice shoes.  Nothing too weird, but typical for a Wednesday at work.

*This process doesn't take me more than the average 3-5 minutes, depending on trial and error.

I work at a salon in Martinez, GA, and have for just over a year.  Yesterday was no unusual day, and I had the pleasure of doing my very favorite friend's hair.

And as she was sitting in this middle chair...

...I turned around quickly to mix up some toner for her blonde.

And my cute little shoes meeting the shiny laminate caused me to not just fall, but fall hard.

I fell on my butt like a toddler.  A big, fat toddler without a diapered butt.  As I lie on the floor, my friend came over and asked, "What can I do??"

"Uh, could you erase the mental picture you have of me falling on my rear permanently from your brain??"

I have a feeling she cannot.  And even now she is snickering to herself, although she is way to good a friend to do it in the moment.

Despite legs full of varicosities, I have never possessed too much common sense about shoes.  I am not a complete idiot, as I would never wear stilettos to work- but you will never find this girl under the age of 50 wearing Clarks or Danskos.

Sorry.  But this was not my only fashion blunder yesterday.  Uh, it got cold.  And as the wind licked at my legs, flipping my insubstantial skirt every-which-way, I thought of the child I put in shorts that morning.  Ugh... what a parent!

So as we are going into colder seasons, I thought that you all might like a simple hat pattern that requires NO circular needles, just simple knitting and perling.  And heck, you really don't even need to perl.  Just grab some good wool, cotton, or bamboo (only natural fibers, please!), some 10's and get to knitting!

Easy Hat (adapted from Stitch and Bitch Patterns)


1 skein Debbie Bliss Full of Sheep
US 14 knitting needles
Yarn needle for stitching up the sides

Cast on 38 (50, 54, 58) sts.*
Work 22 (29, 32, 35) rows in stockinette (or however you would like).

Shape crown:
Row 1: K2tog, K2; repeat to end
Row 2: P2tog, P1; repeat to end
Row 3: Knit to end.
Row 4: Perl to end.
Row 5: K2tog to end.
Row 6: P2tog to end.

Break off the yarn with a 15"-20" tail.  Thread through a yarn needle.  Thread the needle through the remaining live stitches and pull them tight, and then stitch the two sides of the hat together.  I like to do this with my work inside out (perl side facing me).  When you are at the bottom, secure the end so that it doesn't unravel.  Thread the loose yarn into the hat.

Yeah!  You are done.
*The first measurement is for a large 3 year old.  The other are more adult in size.

So, as one can tell, I have adjusted my elements for dressing a wee bit; but I still can't make a reasonable enough argument for a #7: Practicality.

Rachel Bee.

Spice Cupcakes with Maple Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

My blog.  It is definitely not at the top of the totem pole right now, obviously.

I have been busy:  four weddings in three weeks, my church's annual women's retreat, and then another wedding.  What is the deal with October?  I love all we are doing, but I really wish we could spread a little love onto September.  It was just plain awful!

As I mentioned in my last post, I went to New York last weekend, and it was wonderful. I didn't write about it last week, as I felt like a girl who met a really hot boy for the first time and was completely and irrationally gaga over him.  Because I was (irrationally gaga over my time there).  And I sounded pretty ridiculous in my brain.  For a lover of film, travelling to New York for the first time is like finally meeting a pen pal who you know so well and yet have never met face to face.  I was sad that it was a wee bit chilly the day of our outing into the city.  I had the perfect outfit planned which was in turn covered up with a bulky sweater. Would anyone would notice me?  Of course not. I just sensed that the eyes of one of the most fashionable cities in the world would look down on me from the heights of impossibly colossal buildings and spew my South Carolina swagger straight out.

Those Yankees can sniff out a drawl faster than you can say... well, something stereotypically southern.  And how I hate to stand out when I travel!

My two hours in the city were however trumped by my 2.5 days at West Point, preparing for the wedding of one of the most generous and kind girls in the world.  I will say more about it another time, when I can show you in pictures.

I have been back to my normal life for over a week now, baking and again knitting misshapen hats, doing a lot of hair and makeup, and loving on a family I left for 4 days and 3 whole nights.  Wow.

So as it has been awhile since I have tempted you with sweet treats, here is what has been smelling up my kitchen recently...

Spice Cupcakes with Maple Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting.

And they were heavenly.  And in the words of a young woman who ate one, "they taste like October."

And I would have to agree.

Spice Cake

So here you go.  A recipe:

Spice Cake with Maple Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
2 cups cake flour
3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups brown sugar
3/4 t baking soda
1.5 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t cloves
2 Tbsp. ground ginger
3/4 t kosher salt
3/4 c sour cream
1 stick of butter, completely softened
1 t vanilla extract
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350.  Prepare 2 cupcake tins with liners.
Whisk together all of the dry ingredients (including sugars).  Add the sour cream and butter and beat on medium until they are fully incorporated. Add the eggs together and beat on medium until they are incorporated, and beat another 20 seconds or so.

Spoon batter into cups until they are somewhere between 1/2 and 2/3 full.  Bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes.  Pull out of tins immediately and cool on a rack.

Maple Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
2 sticks butter softened, but still cool
1 block name-brand cream cheese, softened but still cool
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 t pure maple flavoring (or 1 T real maple syrup)
1 t vanilla extract or paste
3.5 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Beat the butter, cream cheese, and brown sugar on medium high for 3 minutes.  Scrape down the sides.  Add the powdered sugar and mix until incorporated, and then beat on medium high for another 2 minutes.  Add the extracts and mix until incorporated.

I sometimes add a bit of good ol' pancake syrup to this, as few Americans know how real maple tastes.  Just be sure you use a syrup made without high fructose corn syrup:)

Fall is here, despite our 88 degree weather.  Wedding stress aside, make some of these and bring some comforting warmth to your high-strung self.

Rachel Bee