Recipe: Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes

I found this recipe in an issue of  "Today's Parent", I made it for my daughter's second birthday a while back and she loved it, it was literally all over her face.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

1/2 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2/3 Cup boiling water

1 1/2 Cup all purpose flour 

1 Cup white sugar

2 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 Cup vegetable oil

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 Large bag of "Rolo" chocolate or something similar

Icing

3 tbsp Butter at room temperature

1 3/4 Cup icing sugar

1/4 Unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tbsp milk

1 tbsp Vanilla

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl, whisk cocoa with boiling water until no lumps remain.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour with sugar, baking powder with salt.

Whisk oil into slightly cooled cocoa mixture, then whisk in eggs and vanilla. 

Stir in flour mixture until combined. The mixture will be very thick.

Spoon batter into paper lined muffin cups. 

Bake until batter is barely set, approx 8-10 minutes.

Remove partially baked cupcakes and push pieces of  chocolate into the center. 

Bake for another 8-10 minutes, then set on cooling rack. 

For the icing beat butter in a large bowl.

Whisk icing sugar with cocoa to remove lumps. 

Beat into butter, alternating with milk. 

Beat in vanilla until icing is smooth. 

Enjoy!!

Recipe: Best Pizza Dough I've Ever Made

Ingredients

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 cups bread flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup flax seed
• 1/5 cup ground chia 
• 2 heaping tablespoons thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons white sugar

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir.
2. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups bread flour, olive oil, salt, white sugar, flax seeds, ground chia, thyme and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Beat well until a stiff dough has formed. Cover and rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface (I greased the pan with olive oil) . Form dough into a round and roll out into a pizza crust shape. Pre bake dough (as shown in picture below) for 5-8 minutes then cover with your favourite sauce and toppings and bake in oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes. 

This recipe made about two medium sized pizzas, the thinner the dough, the better. This pizza was incredible and it had nothing to do with the toppings. 

Enjoy!!

Recipe: Apple Cranberry Crumb Pie

Ingredients

Topping

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Filling

• 3 large Granny Smith apples (or simular), peeled, cored, cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
• 2 cups whole-berry cranberry sauce
• 3/4 cup sugar
• *For the bottom part of the pie I purchased 9-inch deep-dish frozen pie shell.*

Directions

For filling stir together apples, cranberry sauce, and sugar and pour into pie shell. 

For the topping mix all ingredients together in a large bowl until all ingredients become crumbly and sprinkle on top of filling. Bake @ 400 F for about 40 minutes or until filling starts bubbling up to the top. 

Enjoy!