Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

In the wee morning hours of my boyfriend, Paul's birthday and after his friends broke in to kidnap him to take him golfing and after they dressed him in a sexy black dress, I sat in silence after the mayhem and thought, "what better way to greet the morning then to bake him something yummy to help him welcome 30!"

The only thing more inappropriate than the name of these cupcakes (that's if you are easy to offend) is baking these cupcakes for say, a work function. Although they don't have enough alcohol in them to give you a buzz (1 cup of Guinness, 1 shot of Bushmills and 2 shots of Baileys) the Bailey's frosting does taste potent enough to give you a placebo buzz.

These cupcakes combine all the things that make up delicious; beer, chocolate and Bailey's. I knew they were perfect for Paul's birthday as his b-day theme seemed to be Irish Car Bomb shots. Being the good girlfriend I am, I thought I would make a cupcake that could serve as a chaser.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes -

Adapted (barely) from www.smittenkitchen.com

Most of the alcohol in this recipe gets baked out since the Guinness is mixed into the cupcake batter, the Bailey's frosting however is potent, so if you are making these for people who aren't fans of delicious alcohol - - then let me make 2 suggestions, 1. you may want to use cream instead and 2. you may consider new friends.

I love cupcakes with tons of frosting and found that this recipe didn't create enough so I was left frantically scrounging to find enough butter to make a second batch. I heed you this warning to let you know that if you are like me and love mountains of frosting on your cupcakes, buy enough ingredients to double or even triple your icing recipe.

Makes 24-30 cupcakes

For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

1 cup stout (such as Guinness)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

2/3 cup sour cream

Ganache Filling

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate

2/3 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional)

Baileys Frosting

3 to 4 cups confections sugar

1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 shot of Baileys (or milk, or heavy cream, or a combination thereof)

Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.

Make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can put it for 20 seconds in the microwave, watching carefully) Add the butter and whiskey (if you’re using it) and stir until combined.

Fill the cupcakes: Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (the fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes). Meanwhile, using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes-- I found that equally as easy is to press your index finger into the cupcakes being careful not to poke too far down--and also after washing your hands as I am sure you have been licking them at some point. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top. (***see my Ziploc bag suggestion below)

Make the frosting: Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time. If the icing begins to clump up - don't worry once you add the Bailey's it will smooth back out. Once the icing is thick enough it is ready to be spread onto the cupcakes awaiting!

Ice and decorate the cupcakes.

*I haven't ever gotten around to purchasing a professional icing bag like my mom uses to decorate her cheesecakes with. I use a large Ziploc baggie with a tiny snip cut out of the corner of it. Voila - MacGyver Icer, works like a dream!

Yummy Yummy Cookies

It's or should I say tis' the holiday season which means there are a lot of people to make fat in the tummy. Sometimes I think I have an old Italian woman trapped inside of me because of my insatiable need to cook for and feed people. If I had a captive audience, the money, endless ingredients and the time I would relish being in the kitchen making yummy foods. Until that day comes I will have to savor the moments that I do have to cook for others.

This Christmas has been a slew of baking and great recipe finding and I have stumbled upon some great cookie recipes. The Salted White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies are the perfect mix of sugary salty goodness. Think the same yummy that comes with a good kettle corn. The delicious Homemade Oreo Cookies are a great shout out to a classic! I was a little worried making them as they seemed hard to make but they were actually very easy. The difficult part came in not eating the icing as there was a lot left over.

I do need to clarify however, that these recipes are not my own and I have been shamelessly stealing recipes off of a wonderful website called smittenkitchen.com. If you have the time check it out, it's beautifully written and has amazing photographs. My only caution is to avoid it when you have hunger pains.

Salted White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

The original recipe didn’t have white chocolate in it, but it really works wonderfully in here. Even if you’re a dark chocolate fan. Watch out, use the good stuff and this may even convert you.

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon table salt

14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
6 ounces good-quality white chocolate bar, chopped (not “white chocolate” chips; they’re almost always artificial. I am adamant about this.)
1/2 teapoon flaky sea salt (like Maldon or fleur de sel) (for sprinkling on top)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and table salt in a medium bowl.
2. Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula, then add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down bowl again. Add flour mixture gradually and mix until just incorporated and smooth. Gradually add oats and white chocolate and mix until well incorporated.
3. Divide dough into 24 equal portions, each about 2 tablespoons. Roll between palms into balls, then place on lined baking sheets about 2 1/2 inches apart. Using fingertips, gently press down each ball to about ¾-inch thickness.
4. Sprinkle a flake or two of sea salt on each cookie
5. Bake until cookies are deep golden brown, about 13 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack to cool.

Homemade Oreo Cookies

For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg

For the filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375 degrees.

2. In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.

3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.

4. To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2-3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.

5. To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.

Enjoy!

Deliciousness

For the Thanksgiving holiday I made 22 dozen -- YES 22 dozen chocolate chip cookies for the nurses at the hospital as well as an extra batch for Paul to take to work. I think the secret to a great batch of cookies lies in the chilling of the dough in the refrigerator for a few hours to let the ingredients to meld together.