That Nutty Monkey

Hello Sweets,

Sorry for the post being so late today, but I could not sleep last night which threw my whole day off :(  My roommate encouraged me to eat an apple to help with my stomach pains, did you know that apples help with stomach issues? I didn't.  Low and behold my stomach pains got less and less, and now I am feeling well enough to write a post!  I even had to cancel a get together with a fellow baking enthusiast which really broke my heart, thankfully she is very understanding to the saga that is my health.

Yesterday I wrote about the candied pecans that were adorned atop Dan's birthday cupcakes, today we are going to get straight to the cake!  When planning what type of cupcakes to make I asked my mother what are some of Dan's favorite flavors in a dessert.  He is very similar to my nephew because he loves banana type desserts, I had made a banana cupcake before but wanted a more moist cupcake than previously produced.  I found a recipe that had a good amount of bananas in the ingredients so I knew it wouldn't be dry at all, and of course it also included another delightful ingredient, pecans!  Tomorrow's post will include the icing so you can recreate this delicious treat yourself, but for now we'll focus on the foundation of any cupcake ;)

Pecan Banana Cupcakes

Ingredients

1/2C butter, softened

8oz cream cheese, softened

1C brown sugar

1C sugar

2 eggs

1/2C oil

1/3C applesauce

2C flour

2tsp baking soda

2tsp baking powder

1Tbs cinnamon

1/2tsp salt

3C bananas, mashed (approx. 6)

1tsp vanilla

1C pecans, chopped

 

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 350F.  Line muffin tins and set aside.  In a large bow, beat butter and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy.

 

2)  Slowly beat in sugars until light and fluffy.

 

3)  Add eggs one at a time until fully incorporated.

 

4)  Stir in oil and applesauce; mix well.

 

5)  Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt until just combined.  Stir in bananas and vanilla.

 

6)  Fold in pecans.  Fill cups 2/3 full, baking for 28-33 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

 

7)  Allot to cool in pan for 10 minutes then transfer to wire rack.  Allow to completely cool before icing.

These cupcakes are very moist and full of flavor, there wasn't a single bad thing said about these bad boys.  They may look like muffins, but they are sweet like a cake.  I personally like unusual cupcakes, so naturally these are a permanent fixture in my recipe book.  Here's a sneak peak of what was taken to the party;

 

Hahaha, you though I was going to show you a snippet of the finished cupcakes didn't you?  Y'all should know better than that!   Trust me when I say these are worth the wait, and it's less than 24 hours before you can create a frosting that is perfect for this cupcake :)

I know yesterday I said I was hoping to have my website up and running today, but I'm a perfectionist so it's still in the works lol.  It's close to being done, I just want everything to look well and for it to be easy to navigate.  Maybe by tomorrow night I will be able to share it with everyone, but I promise it will be worth the wait :)  Until next time......

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

Pecan I Have Some Pie?

Hello Sweets,

It's the weekend, which is usually is a good thing but sadly I left Texas last night and headed back to Canadia, which meant I had to leave Nathan :(  You would think I would be used to it, but alas no, so I was sad but I'll see him again before I know it!

Since I am left last night I took Thursday night to make Nathan a meal I knew he would love, spaghetti with garlic bread from scratch.  Of course this made him smile (as I knew it would) lol but I also had a second treat for him, a bourbon pecan pie!  Needless to say I was a little worried because pies are not my forte, but I love a kitchen challenge :)  I made the crust from scratch as well but chose not use it as I felt it did not come together as it should have, but none the less I am including the recipe with my pictures.  Let us get to the goods shall we?

Bourbon Pecan Pie

Ingredients

(Perfect pie crust-9")

1/2C flour

1 Tsp salt

1 stick butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

6Tbs vegetable shortening, chilled

ice water

(filling)

 4Tbs butter

1 1/2C pecans, toasted

3/4C pecans, coarsely chopped

1C dark brown sugar, packed

1/2C dark corn syrup

3 eggs, beaten

3Tbs bourbon or whiskey

1/2Tsp salt

Directions:
Perfect Pie Crust
1)  In a large bowl, toss together the flour and salt.

2)  Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut in the butter and shortening until most of it is the size of peas (this is where I went wrong it should be crumbly).

3)  Drizzle 1/2C ice water on top (small amounts at a time) and stir with a fork.  Stir in more ice water 1Tbs at a time until the dough is slightly moist but not wet. )Test by pinching some of the dough together; if it doesn't hold together, add more water)

4)  Gather the dough into a ball, then divide in half, forming each piece into a disk.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.  Let the chilled dough sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before rolling out.

5)  On a lightly floured surface, using a rolling pin, roll out each disk of dough, as needed, into a 12"-13" round, working from the center out and away from you, dusting lightly with flour and rotating the dough as needed to keep the circle even.  Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350F.  Unroll the pie crust into a 9" pie pan; crimp the edge and refrigerate until ready to fill.

Filling
6)  In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat.

7)  Remove from heat and whisk in the pecans, brown sugar, corn syrup, eggs, bourbon, and salt.

8)  Pour the filling into the prepared crust.

8)  Bake the pie until just set (twist the pie, center will jiggle outside will not), about 45 minutes.  Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Yummy!!

Needless to say another successful venture in the kitchen!  I should note that if you don't allow the pie filling to fully cool (gel) there is a stronger alcohol taste lol which obviously we didn't wait long enough or I wouldn't have known that lol.

I want to take a moment to apologize for my sporadic posts, my health has been a bit of a road block for me in the last few weeks with more bad days than one would want.  I am going to try my hardest to get back to the almost daily posts :)  I already know what I am blogging about tomorrow so you can bet there will be a post for all of you tomorrow!  Until next time...............


Stay sweet,



Jennifer xoxoxo