TWO WAY TWIX BARS

original chocolate + caramel  twix bar:

recipe via bakers royale

cinnamon shortbread + white chocolate:

SHORTBREAD

1 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups flour
¼ cup powdered sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line 8×8 pan with parchment paper.
3. Cream butter until smooth.
4. Slowly add sugars and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
5. Gently fold flour + cinnamon into mixture until incorporated.
6. Flatten dough into parchment lined 8×8 pan. Using a fork pierce holes into dough. Place pan in fridge to chill for an hour prior to baking.
7. Bake 8-12 minutes.
8. Return pan with baked shortbread layer to fridge for one hour before adding white chocolate mixture.

WHITE CHOCOLATE LAYER

1 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1. Place heat proof bowl with chocolate and heavy cream in a skillet or sauté pan over barely simmering water until thick and creamy.
2. Pour chocolate on top of shortbread.
3. Cool for about 1 hour.

s'mores for summer's end

about a week ago i found myself thinking:

 "wait wait, summer! where do you think you're going?

you can't leave without giving me an opportunity for s'mores."

and then i experienced this sinful shake from crave, a highly recommended burger joint in castle rock, CO.

the fire roasted marshmallow pieces and graham cracker crumbles swirled among cinnamon-vanilla ice cream and hot fudge yielded a straw irrelevant. this shake required a spoon to go in for the kill. in a thought of underestimation, i asked for my shake in a to go cup. truth is, i was too overtaken by all of its summery sensations to even leave my booth. 

if you are not so lucky as to be in the castle rock area, try these to soften the blow of summer's end:

1.s'more hand pies via always with butter

2. s'moreos via pinterest

3. s'more tarts via love and olive oil

coconut kiwi upside down cake

 

coconut kiwi upside down cake
adapted from raspberri cupcakes


ingredients:
1/4 a stick of butter, melted
2 stick of butter, softened
2 tbsp brown sugar
4-5 gold kiwifruit, peeled and cut into 1cm slices
1 cup caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup self-raising flour
1/2 cup shredded coconut
juice of 2 limes
2 3/4 cups of coconut milk

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin. Pour the melted butter over the base of the pan and sprinkle with the brown sugar, then top with a single layer of kiwifruit.
2. Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar for 3 minutes or until pale and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in the flour, coconut, coconut milk, and lime juice until combined.
3.Pour cake mixture over the kiwifruit and smooth top with a spatula. 
4. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
5. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then turn out of tin. 

link love

some link love:

bonappetit's list of 10 refreshing, low calorie summer desserts. i particularly want to try the apricot rice pudding pops.

a whimsical strawberry wildflower cake.

breakfast + brunch recipes rounded up by pippa at sous style justify my favorite meal of the day. i will be trying each and every one of these most important meals. 

especially the fig, gorgonzola & honey tartines.

and i adore this tucked away kitchen.

cherry peach pie

i recently moved into a new house and discovered a magical garden in my backyard. it has a trellis laced with grape vines, lavender, daisies, daisies, more daisies, rosemary, sage, and a very abundant rainier cherry tree. lots of critters like to snack on my cherries, one morning i even spotted little deer creatures nibbling them for breakfast. so for the first pie of the summer, it seemed appropriate to use what nature gave me.

cherry peach pie

crust:

- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

- 1 tbsp sugar

- 3/4 tsp salt

- 1 cup butter

- 5 tbsp ice water

filling:

- 1 cup + 1 tbsp sugar

- 3 tbsp corn starch (for thickening)

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 5 cups whole pitted cherries, about 2lbs with pit

-3 very ripe peaches, sliced + juice from peaches

- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

- 2 tbsp unsalted butter

for crust:

whisk flour, sugar, salt in a large bowl. Add butter and rub with your fingers until small pea-sized clumps form. Add the 5 tbsp of water and mix with a fork until the dough holds together when pressed between fingers. If it is not holding then add a bit more water. Gather dough together, divide in half and form a ball and then flatten to a disk with each half. Place in a plastic bag and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 mins.

for filling:

Preheat oven to 425F. While dough is cooling, mix your sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl and add your cherries, peaches and vanilla.

Roll out one of the dough balls on a well floured surface with a well floured rolling pin. Roll until it is roughly 12" in diameter. Place the dough into your 9" pie dish and trim the edges so that the dough only overhangs by 1/2". Pour your cherry mixture into the dough lined pie dish, mounding slightly in center. Dot the cherries with butter. Roll out the second dough ball into a 12" round. With a knife of a pastry wheel cut 3/4" strips. Arrange this strips on top of the cherries by simply overlapping or by weaving, trim to 1/2". Fold the dough from the bottom crust up and over the edges of the lattice, pressing with your finger tips to seal the dough. Brush the lattice, not the edges, with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet (incase it gurgles and drips) and bake for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 325 and bake until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. If the edges are burning to quickly you can cover them with foil. Should be about another 1hr of baking time. Remove pie and let it cool.

recipe via house to haus 

luau weekend

last weekend i went to the portland state university luau for a taste of home:

kalua pork, korean bbq, fried noodles,steamed rice, mac salad, lomi lomi salmon, hawaiian sweet bread, and haupia for dessert.

hawaii, i miss you. 

teriyaki grilled portobello mushroom "burger"

nothing like a bbq on a sunshiney sunday.

teriyaki sauce + portebello mushroom + grill

pineapple slice + grill

all of the above + swiss cheese + bun

orange cranberry scones with passion orange frosting

orange cranberry scones

adapted from //a sweet pea chef//

2 cups plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading

1/4 cup packed brown sugar1 tbsp. baking powder1/4 tsp. kosher salt1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled and diced1 cup dried cranberries1 medium orange (for zest)1/2 cup plain yogurt2 eggs1 tbsp. milk

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. combine 2 cups flour, brown sugar, baking powder and kosher salt in a large mixing bowl. cut chilled butter into pea sized dices and add to flour mixture.

3. in a small bowl, combine dried cranberries, orange zest from 1 medium orange and 1/4 cup flour. stir until cranberries are well coated with the flour, then add to flour and butter mixture and stir to combine.

4. in a separate large mixing bowl, beat together yogurt and one egg until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.

5.  knead dough on a lightly floured surface until dough is well-formed, about 1 minute.

6. divide dough into two equal portions. roll each portion into two 6-inch circles at about 3/4-inch thickness. cut each circle into 6 equal pieces/wedges. 

7. place wedges on 1-2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper, separated by about 1-2 inches. 

8.  beat 1 egg with 1 tbsp. milk in small bowl and lightly brush over the tops of the scones right before placing into the oven.  

9. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. remove from oven and cool scones on cooling rack. 

10. drizzle with passion orange glaze.

passion orange glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

passion orange juice

my personal favorite is //hawaiian sun//

1. combine 1-2 tbsp. passion orange juice with 1 cup powdered sugar until smooth and runny. 
2. add additional orange juice until mixture is as drizzly as you like.

3. drizzle over scones when they are completely cooled.

happy cinco de mayo!

vegetarian mexican lasagna:
adapted from //honey what's cooking//

6 flour tortillas cut in halves

1 can (1 lb) old el paso refried beans green chilies

1 can (15.5 oz) black beans

3 tbsp taco seasoning

2 onions diced

2 tomatoes diced

1 jalapeno, deseeded and finely chopped

1 can (19 oz) enchilada sauce

mexican blend shredded cheese, 8 oz +

handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

1. chop veggies (onions, jalapeno, tomatoes)then add them to a mixing bowl, top with 2 tbsp taco seasoning, mix, set aside.

2. in another bowl, mix can of black beans with refried beans. mix in 1 tbsp taco seasoning, set aside.

3. preheat oven to 400 degrees.

4. cut 6 tortillas on half.

5. in a 9x13 inch baking pan add 3 ladles of enchilada sauce. spread until pan is well coated. 

6. place 4 pieces of tortillas

7. add 3 big spoonfuls of beans and spread evenly.

8. add a smooth layer of veggies.

9. add 3 more ladles of enchilada sauces.

10. top with 2 handfuls of cheese.

11. repeat layers of tortillas, beans, veggies, sauce, then cheese.

12. layer 2 more times so you have 3 layers total. top last layer with remaining enchilada sauce.

13. bake in oven for 25 minutes.

14. top with cilantro and comer bien!

don't forget to pair with a margarita, 

c'mon it's cinco de mayo.

1. mango margarita

2. guava margarita

3. guanabana margarita

4. peach margarita

1/2/3/4

cod curry + garlic naan

nice and easy weeknight curry

//recipe here//

whoo pie!

chocolate whoopie pie recipe:

2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg

1. heat oven to 375 degrees

2. in a bowl whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. set aside. 

3. in a large bowl, mix the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. then add the egg.

4. cream buttermilk and vanilla together, add to butter/sugar/egg mixture.

5. with the mixer on low alternately add the wet and dry mixtures together, beginning and ending with the flour. mix until smooth.

6.  drop dough by heaping tablespoons onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. each 2 inches apart.

7. bake for 10-12 minutes. immediately move the cookies to a metal rack to cool. 

rose water white chocolate buttercream frosting recipe:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened 

1/2 t. vanilla 

2 cups powdered sugar 

1/2 cup white chocolate chips + a little bit of milk

whites of 1 egg

1 tbsp rose water

1. melt white chocolate chips in a little bit of milk, just enough so that they melt easily, mixture should not be watery. put in freezer for rapid cooling.

2. beat butter and vanilla until creamy. add egg white. keep beating.

3. add cooled white chocolate chip mixture.

4. add  powdered sugar and rosewater. add more rosewater if you like. mix until smooth and fluffy.

taters + sandwich

breakfast is my fave.

no recipe required.

redux

hello blogosphere!

i have been cooking a lot as usual, but i have not had the time to tend this blog. i am back now and instead of posting links to other people's recipes, i'm planning on posting more of my own kitchen experiments. 

if you are looking for recipes or just beautiful food photography, follow my board //munch on pinterest// 

oh, it's so good to be here.