Cherry Vanilla Love Monsters (aka Whoopie Pies)

Let me just tell you one more time. I love holidays! Seriously, there might not be anything better than cutesy themed dessert and containers filled with festive sprinkles and sharing some goodies with friends! These Love Monsters don't take too long to bake or assemble and they're just so cute, who wouldn't wanna get bitten by the love bug today? Happy Valentine's Day!

Cherry Vanilla Love Monsters [click to print]
Makes about 36 whoopie pies

For the cake

• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 2 eggs, large
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2-1/4 c. flour
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 pkg. candy eyes (I used Wilton Candy Eyes)
• Sprinkles

For the filling

• 1 c. unsalted butter, softened
• 2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 jar (7.5oz) marshmallow fluff
• 1 c. cherry vanilla compote (or pie filling)
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. salt

1) Preheat oven to 375 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or coat with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. 

2) In bowl of stand mixer, cream butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, incorporating well between each addition. Beat in milk and vanilla. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, powder, salt and soda; gradually add to batter in about three additions. Beat until just combined. 

3) Scoop heaping teaspoons of batter onto prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart. Add candy eyes to half of the cookies, placing eyes about 1/3 of the way towards the center of the cookie (otherwise the eyes melt when they bake). Bake one sheet of cookies at a time for about 10 minutes or until edges are just barely golden. Allow to cool on baking sheet about 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely. 

4) For the filling, beat butter and sugar until well combined and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add fluff, vanilla and salt. Stir in pie filling, mixing until just combined. Spread filling on half the cookies and sandwich with the eyeball cookie halves. Fill small dish with sprinkles and roll edge of assembled whoopie pies in sprinkles to coat. 

Source: Adapted from Just Baked

Chocolate Cherry Sable Cookies

At some point over the last few years, I decided that I really quite enjoy my own company. I mean, I'm really funny and clever, I have great taste in shoes, as evidenced by my wall-sized shoe rack (no, really, I may have a problem) and I'm always up for trying new things.

And being alone while I bake with my flour-dusted laptop and a cheesy Netflix/Hulu movie and/or murder mystery (not the really gruesome, scary kind, I'm more of a "Bones" and "Murder, She Wrote" fan) just gives me time to think and relax.

I only occasionally get distracted and burn trays of cookies (no timer in this apt here), but lucky for you, that's the hardest part! As long as you remember to take these puppies out of the oven, they're really simple and look so elegant!

Also, they're a kind of butter cookie, if that tells you anything...yum!

Chocolate Cherry Sable Cookies [click to print]
Makes about 4 dozen cookies

• 4 oz butter, softened
• 2 oz sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 5 oz cake flour
• 1-1/2 T. cocoa powder
• 1/4 c. cherry jam

1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 

2) In stand mixer, beat butter for about 20-30 seconds until smooth-ish. Slowly add in the sugar. Slowly add the egg. Add a small scoop of flour and beat until ingredients just pull together. Add remaining flour all at once and mix until just combined, scraping sides of bowl as necessary. 

3) Fit piping bag with a large star tip (I used #3B). Pipe dough onto prepared sheet, spacing about 1-1/2" apart. Dip your finger, or the end of a wooden spoon, in cocoa powder and press a dent in the center of the piped cookies. 

4) Fill ziploc sandwich bag with jam and snip off a small corner. Squeeze small amount of jam into depression in cookies. Refrigerate about 5 minutes until firm then bake for 8-11 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on sheet about 3 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. 

Source: Adapted from L'Academie de Cuisine

Cherry Vanilla Compote

Breakfast is probably my favorite meal of the day...even though I usually just grab an apple or something on my way out the door. I guess it would be more accurate to say breakfast food is my favorite. Ever. And any time of the day. I don't discriminate like that.

A friend suggested getting together for brunch a week or so ago and I've had sweet and savory breakfast combos floating through my mind pretty much every day. Let's just say, I need to start getting up earlier if I'm going to eat everything I'm planning on making!

And everyone knows that any good breakfast food...waffles, croissants, birthday cake...has to be accompanied by a flavorful syrup of sorts. I opted for a compote here, which is basically a syrup made even more amazing by packing it with chopped fruit. I think that means it's healthy. You can go ahead and quote me on that.

Cherry Vanilla Compote [click to print]
makes about 2-1/2 cups

• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 T. cornstarch
• 1/2 c. water
• 1 T. lemon juice
• 3 c. dark cherries (pitted and halved; keep juice if using frozen!)
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

1) In large saucepan, whisk together sugar and cornstarch. Add water and lemon juice. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring mixture to a boil and continue heating about 2-3 minutes or between 170-180 F.

2) Stir in cherries and bring back to a boil. Continue boiling about 3 minutes or until cherries are just softened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Let cool and smother waffles, ice cream or test out a Dark Cherry Truffle Cake (coming soon)!

Source: Adapted from A World of Cake and Closet Cooking

Frozen Cherry Ganache Cake

Boys/Men are the hardest to come up with gifts for. Every year at Christmas, it's a no-brainer that my Dad and little brother (who's no longer that little) get at least one box each of chocolate covered cherries. They practically inhale those things with their minds.

But what do you do when their birthdays fall earlier in the year, when you're wishing for something slightly refreshing but still packed with that decadent chocolate-cherry combination? Frozen ganache cake, that's what.

This is another one of those ice cream-esque cakes that melts a little differently than regular ice cream but is so rich and creamy. The cherries cut beautifully in the center layer, making for a very eye-catching presentation. Perfect to wow the birthday boy!

Plus, this is one of the easiest cakes of your life! The hardest part is exercising self-control as you wait for the layers to set!

Frozen Cherry Ganache Cake [click to print]
makes 3 mini loaves

• 2/3 c. heavy cream 
• 2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 c. cherry pie filling

1) Line mini loaf pans with parchment paper, or one regular loaf pan, and set aside. 

2) Heat the cream in a small saucepan until hot but not boiling. Pour over chocolate and allow to sit about 30 seconds. Stir chocolate mixture until smooth. 

3) Divide chocolate among loaf pans, filling each about 1/3. Carefully spoon cherry filling over chocolate layer. Top each loaf with remaining chocolate and chill in freezer until firm. To serve, cut with a knife dipped in hot water. 

In Season: Cherries

I marched up and down and through every dirt road, corn field and briar patch on my grandparents' farm, formally known as "The Farm," and picked wild blackberries and raspberries and homegrown strawberries, fresh warm peaches, crisp apples...

But I had no idea there were wild cherry trees along the edge of the woods until my dad found them on a hike not too long ago. A precious find.

The most common kinds of cherries are the wild, or sweet, cherry and the sour cherry. They are in season in North America during the summer months, but peak season is in June. And if you're looking for something delicious to whip up with some fresh cherries, give these recipes a try:

• Cherry Limeade Cupcakes
• Sour Cherry Compote
• Chocolate Covered Cherry Cobbler
• Sweet Cherry Sorbet with Lemon Basil

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes

I never even saw a Sonic in my life until I hung out with my AZ cousins one summer. Sure, I'd seen commercials, but I never went to one.

But, Rachel and Sarah were convinced that Cherry Limeade is the absolutely best drink in the world and you can only get it from Sonic. So of course we made a pit stop there one night.

They were right, Cherry Limeade is pretty good, but I wanted a stronger lime flavor and maybe in more of a desserty combination. Oh, yeah, it's cupcake time!

I love the flecks of neon red chopped maraschino cherries in the cupcakes and frosting. And the lime curd flavored filling really packs a refreshing punch!

Aren't cherries and lime a great summer combination?

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes [click to print]
Makes about 2 dozen


For the cupcakes

• 2 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• zest from 1 lime (about 1-1/2 T.)
• 1/2 c. whole milk
• 1-1/2 tsp. lime juice
• 1/4 c. maraschino cherry juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1-1/2 c. sugar 
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 c. maraschino cherries, chopped

For the filling

• 1 c. heavy cream
• 1/2 to 3/4 c. Lime Zested Curd

For the buttercream

• 4 c. vanilla buttercream (French Buttercream is a great choice))
• remaining maraschino juice and cherries, chopped (from 16 oz. jar; about 1/2 c. juice and 1/3 c. chopped cherries)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cupcake tin or coat generously with nonstick cooking spray; the kind with flour in it would be great for these.

Whisk together flour, powder, salt, soda and zest; set aside. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, cherry juice and vanilla and set aside. 

Cream sugar and butter in mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg whites, one at a time, incorporating well between each addition. Alternately add flour and buttermilk mixture, begging and ending with flour and beating between each addition until just combined. Stir in chopped cherries. 

Scoop batter into prepared cupcake tin, filling each liner about 2/3 full. Bake 15-18 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. When cool enough to handle, transfer cupcakes to wire rack to cool completely.

For the filling, beat cream on medium high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in curd until evenly combined. Scoop filling into pastry bag fitted with large plain decorating tip. To fill cupcakes, poke tip into top of cupcake, about 1/2 inch deep, and squeeze small amount of filling. You'll see the top of the cupcake rise slightly.

For buttercream, whip vanilla buttercream and chopped cherries/juice in mixing bowl until fluffy and cherries are well distributed. Generously frost each cupcake and dig in!

Source: Cupcakes adapted from Gimme Some Oven

Sweet Sixteen: Valentine's Day

Ah, yes. The holiday of love. I had a bunch of friends in college that absolutely hated V-day. Instead they'd celebrate SAD (Singles Awareness Day), which is somewhat depressing in its own right. I see nothing wrong with pink and red and hearts all over the place. And so, despite my current singleness, take a look at this week's photo roundup, and by all means, feel free to test out a recipe and drop it by my door!

Row 1: Thumbprint Cookies, Chocolate Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwiches, Cranberry Cherry Ribbons, Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Row 2: Frozen Strawberry Pie Shot, Blackberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars, Cherry Vanilla Tuxedo Cake, Strawberry Yogurt Cubes

Row 3: Cinnamon Crisps, Strawberry Hot Chocolate, Raspberry Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Mug Brownie Cakes, Vanilla Bean and Cherry Swirl Icebox Cookies

Row 4: Cherry Cordials, X O S'mores, Chocolate Dipped Strawberries, Cocoa and Raspberry Cream Cookies

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cobbler

I'll be going home tomorrow to spend some time with my family for Thanksgiving. It's gonna be a little different this year since the only kids at home now are me and my sister. We're used to having at least two other brothers hanging around to make some noise! The holidays always make me miss my family and feel very introspective, which can be a good thing. This time, it made me think of my dad and Jeffie, my baby brother who now towers over me by at least a foot, and their almost unquenchable love for everything chocolate covered cherry. This one's for you guys!

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cobbler   [click to print]
For the Filling: 
2 c. frozen cherries, thawed
3/4 c. sugar

Combine cherries and sugar in small bowl. Heat in microwave for 1-2 minutes to just warm. Set aside. 

For the Crust: 
1/3 c. butter or margarine
3/4 c. flour
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. milk

Place butter in 10x10 baking dish and set in oven while it preheats to 375. Whisk together dry ingredients in bowl. Add milk and stir to combine. Pour over melted butter in baking dish. Spoon cherry mixture over batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until crust looks dry and browned.

Source: Adapted from my mom's memory of her basic college days' cobbler recipe