Apple Truffles

Happy Holidays! 

Welcome to my blog, thanks for visiting :) 

                                  

Today's recipe was inspired by the massive amounts of dark chocolate Lauren gave me for Secret Santa (thank you Lauren!!) and the classic chocolate covered pretzels we usually make back home. 

This recipe is super quick, easy, and great for serving to guests, bringing to parties, and making with friends/kids!

Thanks to Addie and Justin for helping me chocolate dip, as chocolate covered anything is more fun with friends :) 

The Recipe: Apple Truffles

• 5 Apples
• 2 bars of 85% Cocoa Dark Chocolate
• Crushed Candy Canes

The Process: 

1. Line baking sheets with tin foil.
2. Cut apples into slices, removing the core. 
3. Break Dark Chocolate bars into small pieces. 
4. Microwave chocolate in a microwave-safe container in 30 second spurts, stirring in between. It should take at most 1 minute total. 
5. Dip apples in chocolate.
6. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes. 
7. Freeze to harden chocolate. 
8. Try not to eat them all!!

The Calories: 

Chocolate: 420 calories

Apples: 570 calories

Candy canes: 30 calories

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TOTAL: 1020 calories

Let's be real: this recipe makes around 60 servings, and is essentially just apple slices. Each slice has about 17 calories. Indulge guilt-free ;)

What went right: 

          Everything! These were super delicious and loved by everyone who ate them. They were also a great treat for my Gluten Free/Vegan friends who could not eat the toffee or most other treats we made. 

What went wrong: 

          I didn't have pretzels :( 

What would I do next time:

          Potentially use caramel as well to make them Turtle Apples, or try dipping in butterscotch or white chocolate. 

Overall, a super quick, easy, healthy recipe for everyone to enjoy!! 

Christmas Pasta Casserole

Hello and welcome! 

Today's dish was one that could only be called "Improv Cooking" (thanks to Alec for the term). While cleaning out all the food in Turman, Lauren and I decided it was time to have an actual meal. To be honest it has little to do with Christmas other than being red and green with "snow", but I suppose that says something for my one-track mind...

The Recipe: Christmas Pasta Casserole

• 1 Box Penne Pasta
• 1 cup Spinach Leaves
• 1 can Crushed Tomatoes
• Parmesan Cheese to taste

The Process: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (176.6 degrees Celsius)
2. Boil enough water to fill 3/4 of a pot on the stove. 
3. Cook pasta to desired consistency. 7-8 minutes should produce al dente pasta, depending on your stove. 
4. Strain pasta and transfer to bowl. 
5. Mix spinach, tomatoes, and cheese with pasta. 
6. Transfer to casserole (or other oven-safe) dish. 
7. Sprinkle the top with cheese. 
8. Bake for 5-10 minutes (as desired). 
9. Enjoy!

The Calories: 

Pasta: 800 calories

Tomatoes: 136 calories 

Spinach: 7 calories

Cheese: 52 calories

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TOTAL: 995 calories

Divided by the two of us, this makes a very nice filling meal of only 498 calories each, made of quite healthy components! 

What went right: 

          The pasta was cooked nicely, the spinach was great even though it wasn't sauteed, and the whole dish really fit together quite well! 

What went wrong: 

          Nothing necessarily wrong. I don't know that I can classify it correctly as a casserole without the massive amounts of cheesy layers and far more ingredients, but I can say that it's delicious! 

What would I do next time: 

           Potentially add sauteed zucchini and mushroom. and bake slightly longer. 

Overall, this was a great dish that will definitely be made over and over! 

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Toffee

Hello and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Despite the cold, November through January is my favorite time of year. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Thanksgiving, American New Years, Ramadan (depending on the year), anything else, or nothing at all, there's never a lack of holiday spirit and joy! 

                                

My floor at Emory is undeniably the MOST full of holiday spirit on the entire campus. Finals or not, we have a fully decorated lounge complete with Christmas Tree and Menorah, Santa letters on the walls, a Secret Santa exchange, and overall glee is at an all time high. 

Back home, this is the time of year I would normally spend practice baking for the week of Christmas through New Years. In high school, I used to bake a different treat for all my AP classes during the last week of school, and we had classic high school parties during the school day with treats and movies and almost no students in each room. There was something about December that always made me dress up in red and green and paint my nails with a new Christmas theme every day. Finals put a slight damper on this time for me, because studying > baking, nail painting, and dressing up. I wasn't my usual super happy holiday self, and it really worried me for a while that I didn't feel at home. 

Then finals ended and I was able to make up for lost time with some holiday favorites. For the rest of my time at Emory, Turman Hall smelled remarkably like home.

Thank you Emmy, for making this with me!!

Thank you Adrienne, for the original recipe using walnuts and milk chocolate!

The Recipe: Dark Chocolate Peppermint Toffee

• 60 Saltine Crackers
• 1 cup Brown Sugar 
• 1 cup Butter (2 sticks, 16 tbsp)
• 1 cup Dark Chocolate Chips
• 1/2 cup Crushed Candy Canes (Optional)

The Process: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Line baking sheet with tin foil. 
3. Lay saltines on baking sheet.
4. Melt butter and brown sugar in a pot, stirring constantly, until it reaches the color and consistency of the below photo. 
5. Pour butter/brown sugar over the crackers. 
6. Bake for 5 minutes. 
7. Spread dark chocolate chips over the toffee base and cover the pan with aluminum foil for about 10 minutes to allow the chocolate to melt. 
8. Put candy canes in a bag. 
9. Crush against a hard surface with pot. (as desired)
10. Use a spatula to spread chocolate chips into a layer of chocolate. 
11. Top with crushed candy canes (and sprinkles!) 
12. Allow to freeze for 30-45 minutes. 
13. Break and share to spread holiday cheer!!

The Calories: don't matter at the holidays. But if you're really that curious...

Crackers: 758 calories

Butter: 200 calories

Brown Sugar: 839 calories

Chocolate: 860 calories

Candy Canes: 50 calories

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TOTAL: 2707 calories

Mind you, this is for an entire PAN of toffee. If we assume a pan makes 60 servings, each serving is a mere 45 calories! So indulge away ;)

What went right: 

         I baked with a friend, it was super quick and easy as usual, and everyone who ate it LOVED it. In fact, it was so easy that we made another pan later and added some dark chocolate covered cherries to part of the recipe. Game changer. Once again beloved! It's really one of those recipes you can do in almost no time with very little necessary technique and few ingredients, but it never ceases to please! 

What went wrong: 

         There's always that one recipe that tends to go a little TOO fast...

What would I do next time: 

          Make two pans ;) Otherwise, it would be nice to try with a pretzel base, though that might be a bit more sticky, and with different types of toppings like dried fruit, white chocolate or nuts. 

Overall, this is a perfect college treats recipe that everyone can participate in and enjoy :) 

Keep looking out for more fun holiday baking!! 

Cinnamon Cocoa French Toast

Happy Finals Week!

Today's recipe is a collegiate adaptation made to de-stress my floormate Emma after a long 8am final :)

The beauty of the end of the semester means having to empty one's room of all edible articles. For me, this includes an entire freezer full of bagels. So when Emma requested french toast, I decided to explore the different types of bread that can make french toast...aka all the breads.

The Recipe: Cinnamon Cocoa French Toast

• 1 Panera Bread Cinnamon Crunch Bagel
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup Fat Free Milk
• 1 tsp Canola Oil (in the mix)
• 1 tbsp Canola Oil (on the pan)
• 1/2 package of Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa Powder

The Process: 

1. Slice the bagel to desired thickness. I went with 1/2-3/4 inch slices. 
2. Break an egg into any container that is at least as deep as the bagel slices are thick. 
3. Add the milk, oil, and hot cocoa. 
4. Whisk completely with a fork. 
5. Allow bagel slices to soak in the mixture, flipping once one side is saturated. When you are done, the entire mixture should be essentially inside the bagel slices. 
6. Heat a pan with oil until the oil spreads out across the surface of the pan. 
7. On medium heat, cook soaked bagel slices on the pan for a few minutes. Watch for the edges of the french toast to begin to bubble and brown. With a spatula, feel free to check the french toast. An easy way to tell if they are close to done without turning them over is by nudging them slightly; if they slide easily across the pan, they are most likely close to done. If they stick to the pan, they are not ready to be flipped. 
8. Once they are ready to be flipped, simply allow the entire batch to slide onto another pan (in my case a pie tin) and then flip this dish over onto the first pan so that the french toast is flipped. 
9. Allow this side to cook. 
10. Once they are done, remove from the pan and sprinkle with powdered sugar. 
11. Enjoy :)

The Calories: 

Bagel: 420 calories

Egg: 78 calories

Milk: 21 calories

Oil: 160 calories (if all oil is used, however much of it will remain in the pan)

Cocoa Powder: 45 calories

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TOTAL: 724 calories

Okay, so this isn't the most healthy recipe, but as I'm constantly reminded, "It's finals season! All bets are off." It's one thing to eat this way constantly, but it's another to treat yo' self after a stressful final. 

What went right: 

          I was told that it tasted very very good and did not even need syrup (yay, because I didn't have any!). Usually, I would take this with a grain of salt because friends are usually going to tell you that they like something you've done even if it's not that amazing. However, psychology has taught me that when something tastes good, each bite spends less time in our mouths, and this dish was polished off in a mere few minutes :) 

          Speaking of only a few minutes, from start to finish, this recipe probably took 20 minutes, about half of which was waiting time while the bagel soaked, which can always be used for other productive endeavors like paper writing ;) Super doable for the time-crunched college student! The short cooking time made it easy to not feel stressed about losing time, and because I love cooking it was also a flow activity that helped me de-stress in preparation for my final last night. 

What went wrong: 

            I'd go with nothing on this one. It wasn't as healthy as I hoped it would be, but it was definitely more healthy than it could have been by using only one egg, low fat milk, and cooking it in oil instead of butter. As we've discussed previously, while both oil and butter are composed entirely of fats (lipids), butter is primarily composed of saturated fats, which allows it to remain solid at room temperature, and oils are primarily composed of unsaturated fats, which makes them more fluid at room temperature. Unsaturated fats, in moderation of course, are healthier than saturated fats. 

Would I do it again?: 

           Definitely. And I probably will before all is said and done this semester. 

What would I do differently: 

           It would be fun to play with toppings and fillings, like nutella, peanut butter, jams/jellies...I think all of the above would bode well :) 

Overall, a great recipe that I'm very glad I made for my friend :) While college teaches us to look out for ourselves and our own needs, it also teaches us the importance of supporting one another. Personally, I always look out for those who look out for me, and genuinely believe that it has been a major source of my success. Look out, T3...lots of food to come your way <3 

The workout: 

Even though this was more healthy than most french toast, it still needs a workout. Emma and I often work out together at the WoodPEC, usually burning 300-400 calories in a short elliptical workout. This is enough to offset the calorie amount of this meal to a normal caloric intake for a brunch meal. 

In theory, the portion I made is enough for two people to share as a single meal, which would bring the calories per serving down to 362. 

Deceptively Healthy Dessert: Gluten Free Chewy Chocolate M&M Cookies

Welcome Gluten Free Eaters and Dessert Lovers!

Today's recipe comes once again from my lovely bio lab group <3

Meet Team Hunar: Hunar, Caitlin, Caroline, Me

 

Our first cooking experiment together (Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oat Cookies) was such a success, we decided we should bake again while putting together our lab report presentation. That, and, we wanted an excuse to hang out and bake together again. 

The major stipulation for all lab group baking projects is that they have to be Gluten Free, because Caitlin is Gluten Free, and we love her, so we need to make sure she can enjoy the cookies too! 

                                                             

Thanks to Caroline for finding this recipe and suggesting it to the group :) 

Thanks to Caitlin for reinventing the recipe with M&Ms and being an awesome DJ :) 

and of course...thanks to Hunar for bringing "the spunk" ;P

Objective: 

Bake delicious, gluten free, addictive, healthy cookies that will please the "god" of Lab 116. 

Hypothesis: 

Removing the egg yolks and not using flour or butter will increase the health value of cookies and adding cocoa powder and M&Ms will increase the deliciousness. The powdered sugar, when baked, will form a coating for the cookies, to give these soft fudgy cookies some crunch. 

Materials:

• 3 egg whites
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup melted chocolate
• 1/4 cup M&Ms 

Protocol:

1. Use sterile technique. 
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
3. Mix all dry ingredients together
4. Melt chocolate in a microwave safe container (preferably ceramic) in small spurts of 30 seconds each, stirring between each spurt (If you do not follow this protocol you are guaranteed to burn the chocolate and potentially burn the container!!)
5. Add eggs and melted chocolate and mix
6. Add M&Ms and mix
7. Spoon onto baking sheet
8. Bake for about 10 minutes, watching carefully for when they expand, as each oven is different. 
9. Allow to cool
10. Enjoy!!

Results:

The Calories:

Egg Whites: 51 calories

Sugar: 1167 calories

Cocoa: 128 calories

Chocolate: 200 calories

M&Ms: 253 calories

Vanilla Extract: 6 calories

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TOTAL: 1805 calories

For 30 servings, this is about 60 calories per serving. It's a lot of sugar, but the egg whites and lack of butter and flour really make a difference for the health value. 

What went right:

         They're absolutely delicious, and again, our instructor loved them!! 

What went wrong: 

          Nothing :) 

Would I make these again: 

          I'm pretty sure I'm morally obligated to make these again...a few of my hallmates saw me bring them upstairs and I couldn't give them any because they were for the lab class...so look out T3, we'll be having these cookies at some point :) 

Overall, a delicious and relatively healthy dessert! 

If you really need to work this off, it doesn't take a lot of work. 60 calories can be burned off with: 

• 30 minutes of yoga
• 20 minutes of playing pool
• 20 minutes of bowling
• 20 minutes of playing darts

As you can see, these are relatively light activities. That said, every little bit helps!

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Happy Thanksgiving!! 

This recipe is a family favorite from my grandmother Mary Ann. Every Thanksgiving, we make this pie as a family. Unfortunately, I missed the baking this year because I was at school. Fortunately, my friend Ali was awesome enough to throw a Thanksgiving Potluck Party at her apartment, and kindly offered to bake it with me :) 

I'm not going to claim that this pie is healthy. There are ways to make it healthy. But let's be very honest about Thanksgiving: it's one of those times when food is supposed to be very decadent, very special, and shared with a large group of other people so no one eats too much of one thing. So don't be afraid to dig in for a big Thanksgiving meal, as long as you share with the people who love you most in the world- your family. 

If you really feel compelled to work off one of the best meals of the year, sign up for a Turkey Walk/Run, or simply go for a family walk after your meal :) 

The Recipe: Chocolate Pecan Pie

Crust: 

• 1.5 cups Flour
• 1 stick Butter
• 2 tbsp Sugar
• Water

Filling:

• 1 cup Karo Corn Syrup (Light or Dark)
• 1/2 cup Dark Chocolate Chips
• 1/2 stick Butter
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3 eggs

Topping:

• 1 cup roasted Pecans

The Process:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix flour and sugar for crust. 
3. Soften butter slightly and mince before stirring into dough. Your mixture should be rather chunky. 
4. Slowly add small amounts of water and stir, repeating this process until your dough forms one ball. 
5. Flour a hard surface. 
6. Roll out your dough to about 11 inches in diameter. this will allow you to fill a 9 inch pie plate and have enough dough to cover the sides as well.
   
   
   
    
7. Put your dough in the pie plate and pinch the sides of the crust in a desired pattern.
8. Keep crust chilled while you make the filling. 
9. Soften the butter in the microwave.
10. Melt the chocolate in the microwave, setting it for only 30 seconds or so and stirring before heating again. This is REALLY important, because the chocolate will burn and it is not easy to get burnt chocolate off of anything. 
11. Mix all ingredients (except pecans) together in a large bowl using a hand mixer. 
12. Pour into crust. 
13. Top with pecans. 
14. Bake for about an hour, watching and testing to see that it is finished. 
15. Allow to cool for an hour before serving. 
16. Allow yourself to indulge!

The Calories: 
Flour: 683 calories
Butter: 150 calories
Sugar: 96 calories
Karo: 1920 calories
Chocolate: 160 calories

Vanilla Extract: 6 calories
Eggs: 234 calories
Pecans: 684 calories
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TOTAL: 3933 calories

Granted, this is for an entire pie. It depends how large your slices are, but it should serve at least 8-10 because it is very rich, which means a serving is 492-393 calories per serving.

What went right:
         The pie was absolutely delicious and the crust was perfection.

What went wrong:
         The cooling time is very important. If you don't want a slight chocolate lava pie, allow it to cool completely. I cut it only just too early, but it was still very good.

Would I do this again:
         Absolutely. Only for a group of people, never for just me, but absolutely. I might even consider making a miniature version of the pie for personal consumption.

What would I do next time:
        Other than allow it to cool completely, nothing. This pie is a family favorite and personal favorite. There is nothing that should be added or taken away from it. Even whipped cream would take away from the amazing. However, if this pie is being served in smaller slices, a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream is a tremendous complement.

Overall, this is my absolute favorite pie of all time hands down.

...and to that statement and to myself (and to all of you wonderful people!) I say: Challenge accepted. ;) 

Cookie Dough Brownie Cake

Yet another hall birthday cake day has come and gone, but not without enough sugar and chocolate to solve our global energy crisis.                  

Happy Birthday to Liljuan and Daniel K., hope you enjoyed our T3 celebration!! :) 

Thanks to Kevin for supplying some of the ingredients and helping me hold this program every month :)

Thanks to Nate for baking with me; you're a natural and I look forward to cooking together more often! I hope you had as much fun as I did :)

Thanks to Aunt Maggie, for the icing bag and tips that made our beautiful writing possible <3

...and to the Maintenance Staff for cleaning up after us the next morning. 

Don't worry, there will be a workout at the end. Trust me, it's worth it. 

The Recipe: Layer 1- Brownies

• 4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate 
• 2 sticks butter
• 2 cups brown sugar 
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

The Process:  Layer 1- Brownies

1. Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees Celsius
2. On low-medium heat, stirring frequently, melt the unsweetened baking chocolate and butter together in a small saucepan. 
3. Whisk the flour, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract together in a large bowl. (Try to not cover the kitchen in flour while mixing ;) )
4. Once the chocolate and butter are completely melted and mixed, add this mix to the bowl, being careful not to burn yourself on the pot. 
5. Mix with a spoon. 
6. Mix in chocolate chips. 
7. Bake for about 23 minutes (depends on your oven, be sure to watch it carefully!)
8. Allow to cool completely (we stuck the pan in the freezer, because it was going to be there later anyway and this accelerated the cooling process). 

The Recipe: Layer 2- Eggless Cookie Dough (safe to eat without baking!)

• 1.5 sticks of butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1.5 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1.5 cups chocolate chips

The Process: Layer 2- Eggless Cookie Dough

1. Soften butter in the microwave. (We put the butter in ceramic containers to microwave for a few seconds. Be careful you don't over-nuke it to the point where it explodes in the microwave)
2. Mix all ingredients together with a hand mixer. 
3. Spread over completely cooled brownies (This will take some teamwork and diligence...this recipe only JUST covers the whole pan we used). 

The Recipe: Layer 3- Chocolate Chips

• Chocolate Chips

The Process: Layer 3- Chocolate Chips

1. Spread chocolate chips over cookie dough as desired. I made the admittedly wonderful mistake of not specifying an amount, so SOMEONE decided to go ahead and dump the rest of the bag of chocolate chips on top. He got lucky that I'm from a family that believes you can never have too much chocolate ;) 

The Recipe: Layer 4- Cream Cheese Icing

• 4 oz Neufatchel Cream Cheese
• 1/8 cup butter 
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

The Process: Layer 4- Cream Cheese Icing

1. Mix the butter and cream cheese with a hand mixer. 
2. Mix in vanilla extract. 
3. Mix in powdered sugar. 
4. At first it will not look like icing. Give it a minute, increase the power of the mixer, and you'll see the transformation before your eyes. 
5. Put icing into the icing bag with desired tip. 
6. Write, draw, design, personalize!
7. Be sure to hold the icing tip slightly higher over the chocolate chips than usual, so that they will not come off the cake. 
8. Put cake in freezer until it's time to eat. 

Finally...share with amazing friends!!

The Calories: 

Baking Chocolate- 568 calories

Butter- 375 calories

Brown Sugar- 1724 calories

Eggs- 368 calories

Vanilla Extract- 45 calories

Flour- 1138 calories

Chocolate Chips- 3200 calories

Sugar- 580 calories

Milk- 103 calories

Cream Cheese- 388 calories

Powdered Sugar- 233 calories

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TOTAL:  8722 calories

Mind you, this is for an entire pan. Now it needs to be divided by about 60....which makes 145 calories per serving. Not bad at all when you share it :) To be honest, most of the icing was not used on the cake  either, so most of the cream cheese and powdered sugar should be removed from the total, but we can just know that we're even healthier than we thought, but work off enough calories to cover it anyway!

What went right: 

         Everything. This cake is flawlessly rich and filling. Everyone who tried it loved it, and the energy and happiness cloud on our hall afterward was quite encouraging! 

What went wrong: 

         Yeah, so, it's not a healthy cookie. Whatever. For 145 calories, this cake is about as rich as any chocolate fudge cake or cheesecake for 200 calories less. Like I said, worth it! 

What would I do next time: 

         The only thing I would do next time is be prettier with the icing. We didn't have time to make it as perfect as I wanted to, but it still looked great! Otherwise, there is nothing that should be changed with this recipe. 

          However, if I were making this for my little brother, I would make peanut butter cookies and melt the chocolate on top, so that it would be a Reese's cake. 

Overall, a fantastic cake, entirely worth the calories, and so much fun to make :) 

Now the workout...

So, we need to burn at least 145 calories. There are a few easy ways to do so: 

1. Run 1.5 miles at 10 minute pace. 
2. Walk for an hour at a moderate pace. 
3. Crunches for 15 minutes (45 calories), Squats for 15 minutes (70 calories), Kneeling Pushups for 15 minutes (60 calories). This should be done in intervals, but these are the totals necessary. 
4. 15 minutes yard work (75 calories) and 15 minutes of walking up and down stairs (100 calories). You'd be surprised how easy it is to spend 15 minutes doing stairs in college! 

But in all reality, as long as this is your only dessert for the day, there's really no need to worry!