Almond Raspberry Cupcakes, take 2.

Alright boys and girls...here's my second attempt at almond berry cupcakes! I'm still a little (well, a lot) disappointed with the icing. I think my problem is that I am following recipes that I have to reduce and I keep getting nervous that I'm going to end up with FAR too much icing, so I'm not adding enough of certain ingredients. The end result is a more saucy, albeit delicious icing.

I'm going to repost my recipe, exactly how I made it. If you have any good ideas/recipes for THICK icing to top these bad boys with, please leave me a comment, or shoot me an email (peacelovebagels [at] gmail [dot] com)

for cupcakes:
1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour (can sub all purpose or regular whole wheat or a mixture)
½ cup almond meal**
1 ½ tsp baking soda
½ cup sugar
2 egg whites
½ cup applesauce (or sub butter or margarine)
½ cup almond milk
½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp almond extract

for raspberry sauce:
1 pint fresh raspberries + 12 extra to top c-cakes
½ cup water or choice of juice (or ¼ cup agave and ¼ cup juice/water)
2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with enough water to form a paste
½ tsp vanilla

In a small saucepan, combine the raspberries, agave nectar, and juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When it boils, stir in the vanilla and the cornstarch mixture. Continue to stir as the mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, almond meal, baking soda. In a smaller bowl, cream applesauce (or butter) and sugar for about two minutes. Stir in egg whites, almond milk and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring together until just combined.

Prepare muffin/cupcake tin with cupcake liners. Fill cups about ¼ full, then add a spoonful of raspberry filling, then finish filling with cupcake batter until they’re about ¾ full. Watch out, they bake up pretty big, err on the side of less. Bake 18-22 minutes, or until golden brown and tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

(Ta-da!!)

When cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with a knife or any desired piping tip. Use another tip or spoon to drizzle remaining raspberry sauce on top. Top with extra raspberries, if you have them ENjoy!

**NOTE: almond meal can be made by grinding almonds in a food processor, blender or coffee grinder (I find this the best use of my coffee grinder and it works better than the other two)

For the frosting:

4 large egg whites

1 cup demara sugar

1 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾-1 cup powdered sugar

3 tsp. almond extract

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

To make the frosting, combine the egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.  Heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture reaches 160° F and the sugar has dissolved.  Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes.  Reduce the speed to medium and add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, adding more once each addition has been incorporated.  If the frosting looks soupy or curdled, continue to beat on medium-high speed until smooth again, about 3-5 minutes more.  Stir in the almond and vanilla extracts and mix just until incorporated.

Mexican Wedding Cookies

Part two of the Chrismukkah Cookie Fiesta posts...here are my Mexican Wedding Cookies - also known as Moon Cookies! The recipe was adapted from Manifest Vegan, although my version was highly not vegan, as I used butter instead of Earth Balance (which, while the ingredients are all natural, the ingredients are numerous, corn- and soy-derived and they're not anything I would find in my own pantry). 

The reason they're also sometimes referred to as Moon Cookies is because they're generally shaped like little crescent moons. I was too lazy to make moon shapes out of my cookies, and I actually ended up with a few totally smushed, flat messes after baking:

But thankfully I was able to recoup most of them and they ended up shaped as 3/4 spheres. If that makes sense. Here is my recipe, un-veganized:

Mexican Wedding (a.k.a. Moon) Cookies

ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose
• 1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup butter, cold
• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup finely chopped almonds, roasted or raw

directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together sugar, vanilla and margarine.  Add chopped almonds to the sugar and margarine mixture, then gradually mix in flour.  Your dough will be crumbly - almost flourlike - but easily formed into a ball when worked slightly with hands.

Form into walnut sized balls (this is the point where you can choose to shape them into moons, or not).  Watch out, because they'll spread while baking. I have no idea how to prevent this, I guess just make sure that the butter is very well mixed into the dough.

Bake on un-greased cookie sheet (I put parchment paper down)  in preheated oven for about 12 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheet about 15 minutes.  Roll generously in confectioner’s sugar until very well coated.  Let cool an additional 20 minutes on wire rack.

My cookies probably could have used more powdered sugar to make them a little more decadent, but I was kind of concerned about keeping them in one piece while I rolled them in sugar. Maybe I'll have a second go at it before I put them in pretty holiday gift bags? I can always endorse an argument for MORE SUGAR!

What is your go-to holiday cookie or dessert? Let me know if I'm missing out on any great holiday recipes that I can turn into wonderful gifts!

Almond Raspberry Cupcakes, take 1.

This is my first Peace, Love & Bagels original recipe! I was inspired by the Almond Berry Cupcakes from Main Street Cupcakes and I wanted to try to make my own as a Chrismukkah surprise for Brandon's sister (Almond Berry is her favorite MSC cupcake). 

This was my trial attempt so I could get it just right for Tanja...they taste nothing like the MSC cupcakes but the flavor turned out pretty amazing! I'm going to call this a win for my first attempt at building my own recipe. I'm planning on changing a few things the next time around so I'll repost the recipe when that happens. Some changes I'd like to make:

• bake the raspberry sauce into the cupcake instead of piping in the filling
• leave some whole(ish) almonds in the batter
• thicker frosting, so I can use my piping things to make the cupcakes look a little bit more enticing...my frosting was VERY sweet, but I think the best way to thicken it up is more powdered sugar. I'm all for the sugar high
• I  might also add a bit of sweet (sugar, agave, juice, whatevs..) to the raspberry sauce
• Use some unbleached AP flour in the batter

The frosting was my biggest let down...but that was highly my own fault because I didn't even follow my own recipe. I probably only used 2 cups of powdered sugar, instead of my prescribed 4 cups. Holy laziness. Also, I really REALLY liked the raspberry and wanted there to be more of it, I think I will drizzle any leftover raspberry sauce on top after they're frosted. Without further ado...

Almond Raspberry Cupcakes
almond cupcakes filled with raspberry sauce and topped with almond frosting
makes 12 cupcakes

for cupcakes:
1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour (can sub all purpose or regular whole wheat or a mixture)
½ cup almond meal**
1 ½ tsp baking soda
½ cup sugar
2 egg whites
½ cup applesauce (or sub butter or margarine)
½ cup almond milk
½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp almond extract

for raspberry sauce:
1 pint fresh raspberries
½ cup water or choice of juice (or ¼ cup agave and ¼ cup juice/water)
2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with enough water to form a paste
½ tsp vanilla

for almond frosting:
⅔ cup unsalted butter or margarine
4 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup almond milk
1 tsp almond extract

In a small saucepan, combine the raspberries, agave nectar, and juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When it boils, stir in the vanilla and the cornstarch mixture. Continue to stir as the mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, almond meal, baking soda. In a smaller bowl, cream applesauce (or butter) and sugar for about two minutes. Stir in egg whites, almond milk and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring together until just combined.

Prepare muffin/cupcake tin with cupcake liners. Fill cups about ¾ full (eyeball it, but beware, they puff up pretty big...I'd err on the side of less). Bake 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown and tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

While cupcakes are baking, cream butter and powdered sugar together until creamy. Add almond milk and almond extract and continue to mix until desired frosting consistency is reached.

When cupcakes have completely cooled, use piping equipment to fill cupcakes with raspberry sauce by  placing tip into center of cupcake and carefully squeezing sauce in. Try not to overfill, the sauce will squirt out the top of the cupcake. When cupcakes are filled, frost with a knife or any desired piping tip.

**NOTE: almond meal can be made by grinding almonds in a food processor, blender or coffee grinder (I find this the best use of my coffee grinder and it works better than the other two)

Almond Milk and Almond Hummus Recipe

I'm a huge proponent of anything homemade. I mean, (to steal a quote from Brandon) the Giant Eagle's and Whole Foods of the world didn't exist more than a generation or two ago...people have been thriving on all things homemade for centuries! If they were suddenly gone...what would we do?! I'd make homemade almond milk and homemade hummus, that's what I would do! 

In all seriousness though, I love making things myself because I can control what goes into them. I won't be putting any chemicals, preservatives or other ingredients unpronounceable names into my food! 

Ingredients in a Twinkie (source)

Homemade almond milk and almond hummus are two things that Brandon and I discovered when we did our change-of-seasons, week-long raw foods cleanse (something I want to do again when we transition into the spring again...maybe for two weeks this time???).  I can't begin to explain what an incredible learning experience that week was for us.It was a different way to get to know your bodies, that's for sure. With a little planning, it's definitely a diet that I could sustain for longer than a week. Part of the goal of eating only raw foods was to explore new ways to prepare and eat the foods that we already eat regularly, which is why I still make almond milk just about every week...and almond hummus (using the leftover almond meal from the almond milk) is our new favorite type of hummus. Best of all, you can adjust the texture, flavor and spicyness from here til Sunday. 

Homemade almond milk and almond hummus = love.

How to make almond milk:

1. Soak about 1 cup of almonds 4-8 hours or overnight. I usually do just over one cup.
2. Drain and rinse your almonds then place them in a blender, food processor, magic bullet...anything you use to grind/puree/whip/liquefy.
3. Cover almonds with water and blend them until they turn into liquid-y ground almonds, then add more water and blend for another minute or so. (The flavor of your almond milk depends on your ratio of almonds to water, I normally do just over 1 cup of almonds to three and a half or four cups of water - it's all up to you!)
4. Strain your milk using a sprout bag, cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer into a bowl, or anything that will hold the amount of liquid that you are straining. 
5. Voila! Almond milk! It keeps for 3-5 days in the fridge...I've actually experienced some separation between the water and the nut oil after it sitting in the fridge for a while, just give it a shake and you'll remedy that!

...now, what do you do with all that leftover almond meal??? You make almond hummus!!

Raw Almond Hummus Recipe

adapted from The Raw Food Coach

Ingredients:

~1cup almond meal (leftover from almond milk!)

1/2 cup tahini

1 large garlic clove (I generally use several-love me some garlic)

juice of 2 large lemons

sea salt, pepper, parsley and basil to taste

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients into a blender or food processor, blendy until you've achieved a smooth (hummus-y) consistency. You will probably have to add some water to get everything moving.
2. Taste test: you might want to add more salt, pepper, herbs, etc. Here's where you can go nuts! I've been known to add a jalapeno or crushed red pepper flakes for some spice. I've also included roasted red peppers once or twice. Maybe some pinenuts??? Get creative!!

What are your favorite homemade things? Is there something you've been dying to try to recreate at home? I'd love more homemade ideas! Please leave me a comment or email me, peaclovebagels [at] gmail [dot] com.