Top Five

I don't know how many of you are on Facebook, but they have this particular feature where you can list your favorite top 5 of just about anything. Movie Stars, childhood toys, soda, things you would blow your money on if you won the lottery...so many time wasters.

So I thought I would post my Top 5 Things I Can't Live Without in the Kitchen...things you should run right out and buy if you want to be as awesome as me! ;)

1 ~ Stainless Steel Ice Cream & Cookie Scoops

I use these more than probably anything in my kitchen when I bake. The ice cream scoop I use for scooping up cupcake batter in perfect portions, and it keeps batter from dripping everywhere. The cookie scoop I use for cookies (natch) and for portioning out frosting. They make my life so much easier! Sometimes I'd like another one of each though, because it seems like they're always in the dishwasher when I need them.

I'm not sure of the manufacturers. The ice cream scoop was a gift and the cookie scoop I bought at Wal-Mart about 4 years ago. I want to say it was Oneida? But I can't remember, and the scoop doesn't say. These are also sometimes called "dishers" in the food industry. You'll want to make sure there are NO plastic parts on the scoops. I bought a Wilton one that had a plastic gear on the handle and it broke the third time I used it.

On the bottom of the handle you'll see the disher size. My ice cream scoop is 18/10 (about 2 and 1/4 inches across) and the cookie scoop is 18/8 (about 1 and 1/4 inches across).

2 ~ Morton's Kosher Salt

I keep the big blue box of Morton's kosher salt in my pantry and I have a mug full of it on the back of my stove. (One day I will get a nifty little salt cellar just like Alton Brown has...) Because a pinch of salt is a pinch of salt! It's handy to have it right there for the measuring and pinching. Kosher salt has a milder flavor than regular table salt, which makes it perfect for baking. Plus you can use it for a topping on breads and you can see it when you sprinkle it on meat. Did you know that if your recipe contains vanilla and you don't add any salt you won't be able to taste it? Salt makes flavors taste brighter and is absolutely necessary in baking. Especially desserts!

3 ~ Wilton White Cupcake papers

I don't know about you, but I love me some cupcakes. A perfectly tiny, single serving cake all for you! What could be better? I have bought fancy papers in the past, but it seems like once you bake them, you can't see the design very well anymore because of the cake or the oil or what have you. And sometimes the colors stain the cupcake pans~I still have a pan that has hot pink hearts all over it from Valentine's day several years ago. That's why I'm all about white papers. And Wilton makes the best. I also buy the tiny ones for my mini cupcake pan. So adorable! And who in their right mind wants to grease a cupcake pan? I buy mine in the wedding/cake/craft section at Wal-Mart, around $1.30 for 75 papers.

4 ~ C&H Brown Sugar/Powdered Sugar

Oh sure, they cost 10-20 cents more than your knock off brand, but they taste SO much better. Their brown sugar is not refined sugar that's been sprayed with molasses like the other stuff. It's not sticky and gross. In my opinion, spending a little more on superior ingredients like real vanilla, unbleached flour and well made sugar is where the payoff is when your stuff tastes hands down better than everything else.

5 ~ Kirkland Pure Vanilla

I refuse to use fakey vanilla. You can't taste it. However, I know that real vanilla is notoriously expensive. There was a while we went without a Costco membership and If I ran out of vanilla, I'd have my Dad buy it for me. Their pure vanilla is wonderful and worth every penny. It runs about $8 for a 16 ounce/1 pint bottle. If you've ever bought those tiny vials of the real stuff anywhere, you'll know what a fantastic deal this is! And you can stop using that flavored alcohol stuff you've got in your pantry once and for all. I go through a bottle in about 6-9 months, so I know that a bottle will probably last you forever. :) Once you use the real stuff, you'll never go back!

Cups and Cakes

I broke down and made the Samoas Cupcakes (these uns ri' chere >>) a couple of weeks ago, thinking that if I made them miniature sized (so they weren't so rich) and skipped the caramel filling to save time that they wouldn't be quite so scary.

FOUR hours later I ate my words. Literally. They were incredibly tasty morsels, but not worth all that work. In fact, I thought the Brown Sugar Butter Cupcakes on their own were completely perfect. So did Dana who ate four of them before I realized what she was sneaking away with. They were so good plain that I almost felt bad that I put all that stuff on top of them. Once they were covered with chocolate and coconut frosting you couldn't taste how good the cupcakes were anymore.

I'm including the recipe for the ganache because that part was easy and they look really gorgeous dipped in shimmery chocolate, but I imagine they'd be equally at home with a nice buttercream.

This recipe made almost four dozen cutesy miniature cupcakes, so I think that regular sized they'd probably make a dozen and a half or so.

Brown Sugar Butter Cupcakes

3/4 cup (1 and 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 and 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds.
-Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy. About 3 minutes.
-Add eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each.
-In a seperate bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
-Measure out milk and vanilla and mix together.
-Add about a fourth of the flour to the butter mixture and beat to combine.
-Add about one third of the milk/vanilla mixture and beat until just combined.
-Repeat as above, alternating the flour and milk and ending with the flour mixture.
-Scoop into cupcake papers about 2/3 to 3/4 full.
-Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. (Adjust time to about 12-15 minutes for miniature cupcakes.)
-Cool on wire racks.

Chocolate Ganache

1 and 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips like Ghirardelli
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

-Put chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl.
-In a small saucepan heat cream gently until bubbles form around the edge of the pan, then pour cream over the chocolate.
-Let sit for 1 minute and then stir until combined.
-Add vanilla and stir until combined.
-Let cool slightly.
-Dip tops of cupcakes into warm ganache and turn as you pull up, swirling the chocolate back onto the cupcake to avoid drips. Let the ganache cool on the cupcakes.
-If the ganache becomes too hard to dip, put the bowl of ganache over a saucepan of gently simmering water, stirring until it becomes warm and smooth again.
-If you'd like a more "frosting" like consistency, you can let the ganache cool to room temperature and spread it on the cupcakes.

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If you want the rest of the Samoas Cupcakes recipe (my hat is off to you, my friend), want to send me random comments or are just bored you can e-mail me at: joelnbots at gmail dot com.