The Art of Living (AOL)

This weekend I was able to attend a conference at Shellbourne Conference Center in Valparaiso Indiana. This conference was designed specially for high schooler to learn how to take ordinary tasks and raise them to the level of an art. For example, cooking and baking is culinary arts. It was a lot of fun! Over 75 high schooler girls from around the country took party in it. There were different seminars and competitions. The seminars included how to garden, use tools to make a stool, make different types of salsa from around the world, and how cheese is made and what is paired well with it! I learned a lot from the seminars and the were a lot of fun! The competitions included great cakes, culinary mystery basket, be our guest, and skills gallery. I competed in the great cakes competition with my friend Katie . We made a flour less chocolate cake with a raspberry filling, and we got a silver medal! I was completely blown away by all of the incredibly artistic talent that I saw. This was an incredibly experience and I can't wait to go back next year!

Our cake

Katie, Pat (our coach), and me

Coffee chocolate cake

Inside out german chocolate cake

Carrot Cake

All of the cakes entered

Salsa seminar

Salsa seminar

skills gallery

Katie and I

Chocolate Chip Pecan Scones

Now that Lent is over, it is time to start baking and blogging again! I decided to make a yummy breakfast for my family. Since we are chocoholics it had to be something chocolaty. I was also really excited to try my new gluten free flour, cup 4 cup! This flour is a miracle worker. It makes gluten free baking so simple and it tastes exactly like normal flour and these scones are proof of that! The scones are flaky and have incredible flavor! You can't even tell that they are gluten free! 

Recipe from sugarywinzy.com

Ingredients

• **2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (8 tablespoons) butter
• ¾ cup chocolate chips
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup milk (can be substituted with skim milk, or if richer scones are preferred, use cream)
• *1/2 cup of chopped pecans

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Using a pastry blender , place the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a bowl. Cut the butter to evenly distribute throughout the flour mixture, crumble until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Add chocolate chips. If mixing by hand, mix the chocolate chips with a spatula. 
4. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg, vanilla and milk until well combined. Pour egg mixture over the flour mixture. If mixing by hand, use a spatula to stir the egg mixture with the flour mixture until dough binds together. I
5. Remove dough from bowl and lightly knead on a floured countertop to form a ball. If dough tends to stick, sprinkle flour over the dough and on the countertop. Knead lightly to incorporate the sprinkled flour.
6. Flatten the dough into a disc about 8” in diameter and 1” in thickness. With a sharp knife, slice the dough into 8 equal triangles. Another option is to slice the dough in half to make two dough balls, flatten each ball into a disc about 6” in diameter and 1” in thickness, and slice each disc into 8 equal triangles to get a total of 16 scones. Flour the knife to prevent the dough from sticking to the knife.
7. Transfer the dough slices onto the prepared cookie sheet. Lightly beat one egg and one tablespoon milk. Brush egg wash over each slice and bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until golden brown

*The pecans are not in the original recipe
** I used Cup 4 Cup gluten free flour instead of all-purpose flour

Flatbread Pizza

Not to long ago my mother heard of a gluten free bakery not to far from our house. It's name is Molly's gluten free bakery. They had delicious bread and amazing cupcakes. They also have flatbread that is out of this world! This flatbread is perfect for pizza, which is a very common meal in our house. The flatbread is perfect for pizza because it is thin but not to thin. No matter how you top your pizza it will be delicious!

                               

               

Recipe:

all ingredient amount varies on the amount of flavor you want

Molly's Gluten Free Flatbread

Ragu pizza sauce

Shredded mozzarella cheese 

Mushrooms thinly sliced

fresh basil

Pancetta italian-style bacon

Recipe:

all ingredient amount varies on the amount of flavor you want

Molly's Gluten Free Flatbread

pesto

tomato sliced thinly

fresh mozzarella cheese cut into thick slices

Recipe:

all ingredient amount varies on the amount of flavor you want

Molly's Gluten Free Flatbread

Ragu pizza sauce

Thick cut pepperoni

shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions for all:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place the flatbread directly in preheat oven for 7 minutes before adding toppings, this makes the flatbread crispy.

Remove from oven and add your toppings to the flatbread. 

Bake for 15 minutes.

Here is the link to Molly's Gluten Free Bakery:

http://www.mollysglutenfreebakery.com/index.html

Chocolate Chip Muffins

     It safe to say that breakfast is absolutely my least favorite meal. The only thing  I like about breakfast was anything sweet and chocolate! When I became gluten free, breakfast became a challenge. I thought that all I could eat was eggs and yogurt, and both of those grossed me out (now I love them). After doing some research, I learned that I could still make my favorite breakfast food, and it would not be that much more difficult.

     These muffins were some of the first breakfast food I learned to make gluten free, and they were easy. They were not dense, which a lot of gluten free food is. They tasted so good, I was so happy that I could eat chocolate chip muffins again!

Recipe from: my baking addiction

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour*
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or spray the wells of the pan with non-stick cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla, mixing until well combined.

4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the liquid ingredients into the well. Stir until ingredients are just combined - do not over mix the batter. Fold in the chocolate chips.

5. Evenly divide the batter into the prepared muffin pan wells. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

6. Remove muffins to a wire rack and cool for at least 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

* I used Trader Joe's all-purpose gluten free flour

Milk Chocolate Florentines (Lace Cookies)

     In my family there is nothing that we love more then chocolate and thin, crispy cookies. These cookies are both of those. These addicting cookies are so delicious because they are to super thin crunch cookies held together by smooth chocolate! They are absolutely amazing, not to mention a whole plate full was gone not long after they were baked!

Here is the recipe from: verybestbaking

ingredients

• 2/3 cup butter
• 2 cups quick oats
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup light or dark corn syrup
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups (11.5 oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Milk Chocolate Morsels

• Directions

  PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Line baking sheets with foil. 

  
  

  
  

  MELT butter in medium saucepan; remove from heat. Stir in oats, sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla extract and salt; mix well. Drop by level teaspoons, about 3 inches apart, onto foil-lined baking sheets. Spread thinly with rubber spatula.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  BAKE for 6 to 8 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets on wire racks. Peel foil from cookies.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  MICROWAVE morsels in medium, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on MEDIUM-HIGH (70%) power for 1 minute; STIR. Morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10 to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted. Spread thin layer of melted chocolate onto flat side of half the cookies. Top withremaining cookies to make sandwiches.

Pumpkin Roll

Fall is my favorite season and I just love pumpkin! I decided to try making a pumpkin roll. It was the first time that I've ever made on of these. I've always been intrigued as to how the cake can be rolled without crumbling. It was actually one of the easiest and fasted cakes I have ever made, not to mention you don't have to worry about trying to make it look pretty because it already is! The cream cheese frosting really adds to the flavor to this cake while keeping it light!

Here is the recipe from BUCHKO at all recipes.com:

CAKE:

3 eggs

1 cup white sugar

2/3 cup canned pumpkin

3/4 cup of flour*

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup chopped walnuts**

confectioner's sugar for dusting

Frosting:

1 cup confectioner's sugar

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons butter, soften

8 ounces cream cheese

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 15x10x1 inch baking pan and line with parchment paper. Grease and flour the paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs on high for five minutes. Gradually add white sugar and pumpkin. Add flour, cinnamon, and baking soda. Spread batter evenly in pan. Sprinkle walnuts evenly on top.
3. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 15 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Immediately turn out onto a linen towel dusted with confectioners sugar. Peel off paper and roll cake up in the towel, starting with the short end. Cool.
4. To Make Filling: Mix confectioners sugar, vanilla, butter or margarine, and cream cheese together till smooth.
5. Carefully unroll the cake. Spread filling over cake to within 1 inch of edges. Roll up again. Cover and chill until serving. Dust with additional confectioners' sugar, if desired

* I used Trader Joe's gluten free all purpose flour

**I did not add walnuts

Red Velvet Cupcakes

     I absolutely love red velvet cupcakes. I could always taste the difference between red velvet and chocolate cupcakes but never really knew what the actual difference was. I started researching an found that red velvet uses either butter milk or sour cream which gives it more flavor then just chocolate. It also keeps the cupcakes moist. These cupcakes are full of flavor and are super moist. The cream cheese frosting adds more flavor that makes these cupcakes so irresistible!

Here is the recipe from McCormick:

Serves:

Makes 30 (1 cupcake) servings.

Cupcakes:

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, soften
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 bottle (1 ounce) McCormick® Red Food Color
2 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, soften
1/4 (1/2 stick) butter, soften
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 box (16 ounces) confectioner's sugar

Directions:
 Preheat oven to 350°F. For the Cupcakes, mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.

Beat butter and granulated sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in sour cream, milk, food color and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until just blended. Do not overbeat. Spoon batter into 30 paper-lined muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full.
      
Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely.

For the Frosting, beat cream cheese, butter, sour cream and vanilla in large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Frost cooled cupcakes with Frosting.

Raspberry Clafoutis

When I first saw this recipe I was a nit intimidated because i have never heard of a clafoutis let alone I didn't even know how to pronounce it! Don't be intimidated like I was! A clafoutis is simple fruit (usually black cherries) baked in a sweet batter. I loved how the tartness of the raspberries balance the sweetness of the batter!  This was delicious!

Here's the recipe:

1. 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2. 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3. Salt
4. 3 large eggs
5. 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
6. Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
7. 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
8. 1 1/2 pints raspberries (3 cups)
9. Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
10. Recipe from: Food & Wine

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 9-inch gratin dish. In a bowl, whisk the flour, sugar and a pinch of salt. Whisk in the eggs, butter and lemon zest until smooth. Add the milk and whisk until light and very smooth, about 3 minutes. Pour the batter into the gratin dish and top with the raspberries.
2. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the clafoutis is set and golden. Let cool slightly. Dust with confectioners' sugar, cut into wedges and serve.

Mini Chocolate souffles

Souffles have always fascinated me, so I decided to give them a shot. Since souffles are very temperamental, I tried starting small by making them in cupcake tin. Although these souffles are small, they have a very rich chocolatey flavor. They are also airy and fluffy. Someday I hope to make a full size souffle!

*These deflate very fast

Here is the recipe:
Chocolate Soufflé Cupcakes
adapted from Smitten Kitchen (Recipe found at foodienextdoor.blogspot.com)

6 ounces (170 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons (86 g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
heaping 1/4 tsp instant espresso or coffee powder
3 large eggs, separated
6 tbsp (97 g) sugar, divided in half
1/4 tsp salt
Optional: 3 plums, 1 tbsp sugar, and about 1/4 cup rum*

Do ahead of time: Wash and slice the plums into quarters.  Halve these to get chunks of eights.  Combine the sugar, rum, and plums in a small plastic containers and refrigerate.  Allow to "marinate" overnight.  (note: This can also be done with firm, tart apples or pears)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a standard-size cupcake baking pan with 12 paper liners.


In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Add the chocolate and espresso powder and microwave for two to three 30 second intervals, stirring well between each interval until everything is fully melted and smooth.  At no point should the chocolate get so hot that it steams/bubbles up and is too hot to touch.
Cool to lukewarm, stirring occasionally.

Using a hand mixer (better than a stand mixer, since the volumes are so small) beat the 3 egg yolks and 3 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl until mixture is very thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Briefly beat lukewarm chocolate mixture into the yolk mixture.

Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another medium bowl until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and all of the salt, beating until medium-firm peaks form.

Fold whites into chocolate mixture in 3 additions. Divide batter among prepared cups, filling each one-half of the way.  Add a couple pieces of plum.*  Then fill the cup up to three-fourths of the way.

Bake cakes until tops are puffed and dry to the touch, about 15 minutes. Turn off your oven and leave the cupcakes in for another 5 minutes.

Remove the cupcake pan and cool on a cooling rack, where the cupcakes will almost immediately start to fall.
* I didnot add the plums and rum

Dark Chocolate Trail Mix Bites

These little trail mix bites are amazing and they are supper simple! They are so simple that they don't even have a recipe! To makes these all you do is melt dark chocolate chips and spread a little bit to form a circle on parchment paper. Then top the dark chocolate circles with antioxidants rich food such as dried fruits and nuts. Press the the toppings slightly so they stick to the chocolate. Finally let them sit until the chocolate is firm and enjoy! I guarantee that you will love these! 

Here is the link to the website I found them on:

http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com/post/49054624292

Sea Salt Caramel

Making caramel is something that I've always wanted to do.  I mean what is better than smooth creamy caramel! This recipes great. Making this caramel was way easier then I thought it would be. It turned out great. I just love the way the salt really compliments the sweet caramel.

Here is the recipe:

Recipe from inspiredtast.net by Joanne and Adam Gallagher

These salted caramels are soft, chewy and perfectly melt away in your mouth.

Before starting to make our salted caramels recipe it is best to be sure you have all equipment ready and ingredients measured out. This caramels recipe has been inspired and adapted from Jacques Pépin’s book, “Chez Jacques: Traditions and Rituals of a Cook.”

Created By: Joanne and Adam Gallagher

Yield: 35-40

You Will Need

• 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream or heavy whipping cream (36-40% butterfat content)
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) light corn syrup
• 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon course or flaked sea salt
• 
  

Directions

Lightly oil a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan then measure and cut a piece of parchment paper that will fit inside the pan and come up the sides by at least 1 inch. Next, lightly oil the parchment paper and place into the pan. Set the pan aside.

Cut butter into 8 pieces then combine with heavy cream in a small microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes until hot and butter has melted. Set aside, we will use this later. 

in a small saucepan combine the water and corn syrup. Then, add the sugar, but try your best not to splatter the sugar up the sides of the pan. Now, use a spoon to gently stir the sugar into the water and corn syrup, just moistening the sugar.

Heat over medium heat until the sugar has come to a boil. Then, cover with a lid for 1 minute. This adds steam/moisture to the pan, so any sugar that may have stuck to the sides of the pan melts and falls back into the boiling sugar.

Remove lid then attach a candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan. Then, cook sugar for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sugar reaches a temperature of 320 degrees F (160 degrees C). At this temperature, the sugar will take on a light amber color around the edges of the pan.

The moment the sugar reaches 320 degrees F (160 degrees C), carefully pour about a sixth of the butter and cream mixture then stir, using the base of the candy thermometer to incorporate it. Repeat with the remaining cream and butter (adding a sixth of it at a time then stirring). The sugar will bubble violently as you add the butter and cream – so do this carefully and slowly to prevent the mixture from bubbling over the sides of the saucepan.

By adding the cream and butter, the temperature will drop. Now, continue cooking for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the caramel reaches a temperature of 240 degrees F* (115 degrees C). This will create a soft caramel, if you want slightly harder caramels, bring the temperature closer to 245 degrees F (118 degrees C)

The moment the caramel reaches your desired temperature, pour into the prepared loaf pan. Cool 20 to 30 minutes then scatter the salt over the caramel. Then, let the caramel cool 3 1/2 hours. 

Unmold the caramel. If the caramel is too soft to work with, place into the refrigerator 30 to 45 minutes to firm up. Then, use a large sharp knife to cut into your desired shape. We like to cut into 1-inch by 1/2-inch rectangles.

Wrap caramels in plastic wrap or waxed paper and enjoy immediately, or you can refrigerate or freeze for enjoying later

* I let the caramel reach 240 degrees F and the caramel was really soft, next time I will let it at least reach 245 degrees F

Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies

Since I am a freak about chocolate but also gluten free, I have been trying to find cookies that taste great but are gluten free. These cookies are exactly that! These cookies were crunchy on the outside but gooey on the inside. The walnuts brought the cookie to a whole new level because they added more flavor. The flourless chocolate-walnut cookies were a crowd pleaser as well.

Here is the recipe:

(Recipe from smitten kitchen)

Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies
Adapted from Franӏois Payard’s Chcolate Epihany

These cookies were crispy at the edges, chewy at the center and have filled our apartment with the most intense chocolate aroma.

Yield: 20 to 24 2-inch cookies

2 3/4 cups walnut halves
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Spread the walnut halves on a large-rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 9 minutes, until they are golden and fragrant. Let cool slightly, then transfer the walnut halves to a work surface and coarsely chop them.

Position two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and lower temperature to 320. Line two large-rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk (or combine in an electric mixer on low speed) the confectioner’ sugar with the cocoa powder and salt followed by the chopped walnuts. While whisking (or once you change the speed to medium), add the egg whites and vanilla extract and beat just until the batter is moistened (do not overbeat or it will stiffen).

Spoon the batter onto the baking sheets in 12 evenly spaced mounds, and bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until the tops are glossy and lightly cracked; shift the pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through to ensure even baking. Slide the parchment paper (with the cookies) onto 2 wire racks. Let cookies cool completely, and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.