Vanilla Cupcakes for Two

Posted by: Maggie


I kind of wish I never made this recipe...

Now that I know how easy it is to make two perfect little cupcakes, I'm concerned that I'll do it way too often. Since there is no waiting for the butter to soften, these cakes were mixed up and baked in a matter of 20 minutes. Amazing. And addicting.

I topped these with cream cheese frosting since I had a little bit of cream cheese leftover from the blueberry lemon cheesecake bars, but you can use whatever you want. Even canned frosting...your secret is safe with me!

Here's what you'll need:

For the cupcakes...

1 egg white
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 heaping teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tablespoons milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line your muffin tin with two liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together egg white and sugar until thoroughly combined. Whisk in butter and vanilla until fully incorporated. Add in flour, baking powder, and salt, and stir until completely incorporated. Stir in milk.

Divide the batter between the two liners, and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until cake is set. (Note: The original recipe said to bake for 10-12 minutes, but mine took 16. You may want to keep an eye on things starting around 10 minutes just in case my oven was running cool or something.)

Let cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

2 ounces cream cheese, softened (1/4 block)
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar and beat until fully incorporated and creamy. Color with gel food color if desired.

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Source: How Sweet It Is (cupcakes)
Muh Brain (frosting)

Seared Salmon with Dill Dijon Sauce

Posted by: Maggie

It's time for something healthy. I give away or share the majority of the baked goods you see on here, but that doesn't change the fact that I had two slices of the peach pie, and two of the cheesecake bars over the past week and a half.

In the interest of not giving myself diabeetus, I decided to end my sugar binge and make this easy, healthy, and delicious salmon recipe. This recipe makes enough sauce for about 4-6 servings of salmon, but I just cooked one piece and will probably end up using the rest of the sauce as a dip for carrot sticks or fingers.

I am all about sauce on my food. Oftentimes I will specifically order something at a restaurant because I think the sauce sounds delicious. I recently ordered a patty melt specifically because it was served with chipotle ketchup. Not because I actually wanted a patty melt. This sauce does not disappoint. It is so rich and creamy from the greek yogurt that you will have a hard time believing it's fat free. And the dill...oh yum. I challenge anyone to find an herb that smells better than that stuff.

Make it for dinner tonight - I promise you won't regret it!

Here's what you'll need:

1/4 cup dijon mustard
1 6-ounce container fat-free Greek yogurt (I swear by the Fage brand - it's the creamiest!)
3-5 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, removed from tough stems

4 6-ounce salmon fillets
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil

Mix dijon, yogurt, and dill in a small bowl. Set aside in the fridge until you're ready to serve.

Rinse salmon fillets and dry thoroughly. Season the non-skin side with salt and pepper. In a non-stick skillet, heat canola oil over medium high heat until shimmering. Place salmon seasoned side down into pan, and cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until salmon flakes easily with a fork.

Serve fillets with sauce spooned over the top, and additional dill for garnish.

Source: Adapted from Blue Kitchen

Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Posted by: Maggie

Blueberry and lemon is one of my all-time favorite flavor combinations. I have been sitting on this recipe for over two years, ever since Emily first posted it on her blog. I'm not sure why it took me so long to make this, but I am kicking myself for not making it sooner. These things are delicious. Thank goodness I gave most of them away, because I could have easily polished off the pan.

Fortunately for my waistline, my dad moved to Arlington, Virginia (precisely 3.1 miles away from me!) on Sunday, and I was able to give most of these bars to him. I'm so excited to have him living here in the area. The rest of my immediate family all lives in New Jersey (now including co-blogger Annie - she just moved back to Jersey from Philly), and it's nice to know he's just a short drive away!

In unrelated news...

1. I have watched the first two seasons of Friday Night Lights on Netflix Instant in the span of 13 days. I'm not proud of this. I'm just kind of appalled at the level of couch potato commitment that takes, and felt the need to share it. P.S. Watch Friday Night Lights if you don't already. I know I'm turbo late to the party, but now I want to talk to people about Tyra and Landry and how stinkin' cute they are.

2. Jeff and I ended up being hermits on Saturday, and stayed in to watch The Shining (which both of us have seen many, many times) instead of going to see Horrible Bosses as planned. We googled stuff about The Shining while watching, since we're movie trivia nerds, and ended up finding this gem:

Image via


Yes, that is a cuckoo clock. Yes, Jack Nicholson pops through on the hour and yells "Hereeeeee's Johnny!" No, it is not available for sale. Yes, I got irrationally angry when I found out it was art, and not a mass produced item.

3. One of my favorite things about having a blog is finding out how readers happened upon our site. I regularly check our stats to see what search terms people are using to find us. Yesterday, someone searched for "my boyfriend calls me a devil." Someone searched for "squirrel sitting in refrigerator" (edited for spelling) a few weeks ago. To both googlers, thanks for stopping by, and I am sorry you only found recipes here instead of useful solutions to your problems. To devil girlfriend, I suggest telling your boyfriend that said nickname hurts your feelings. To squirrel person, I suggest donning protective clothing, gloves, and head gear, opening your fridge slowly, and letting the squirrel out. I would not suggest cooking it, as I hear they are gamey. That is your daily advice, courtesy of A Bitchin' Kitchen.

I will stop rambling and give you the recipe now!

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar

Filling:

12 ounces (1.5 packages) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Zest of 2 lemons, grated
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 large eggs
1 pint blueberries

Crumb Topping:

1 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds, toasted
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13x9 pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang to lift bars out. Spray foil thoroughly with cooking spray.

For the crust, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat together sugar and butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low, and gradually beat in flour mixture until just combined. The mixture will be crumbly; that's how it's supposed to look! Press mixture firmly into the bottom of a prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside.

For the filling, beat together cream cheese and sugar on medium speed in a medium sized bowl. Add in lemon zest, lemon juice, and almond extract, and beat thoroughly to combine. Beat in the eggs until combined (about 1 minute).  Pour the filling over the top of the crust, and sprinkle with blueberries. Return pan to oven, and bake for 20 minutes, or until set.

To make the topping, combine the brown sugar, flour, toasted almonds, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Stir together until mixed. Knead in pieces of butter using a fork or pastry blender until butter is well incorporated. What I do at this point to make sure I get sizable crumble chunks on my dessert is this: Take the crumble mixture you just make, and pack it into two or three balls. Crumble the ball into pieces. This way, chunks will stay together and you will get the perfect crumble texture. I just typed crumble a lot. Crumble, crumble, crumble. Sprinkle the crumbles over the cheesecake layer. Return pan to oven, and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for an hour before lightly covering and chilling for 2 hours.

Slice into 15 bars, and enjoy!

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Source: Sugar Plum