How Sweet It Is

Growing up, my mom always made marble cake.

I barely remember her making it, but I do remember eating it.

I really remember eating it when I look back at my chubby elementary school pictures. Especially the one where I wore a purple silk top under a paisley purple vest. Yes, I think vests were cool then, but they weren’t the kind of vests that are cool now.

And I’m still not cool enough to wear one of those cool vests today. Not to mention that I would blind everyone within 4 miles because of my pasty, translucent skin.

Around that same time, I also got a perm and overheard my mom tell someone I looked like Roseanne Barr with that hair. I was more mad at the time that I wasn’t even allowed to watch Roseanne. Who cared if my hair resembled hers? So what if it looked like I stuck my hand in an electric outlet? I just wanted to watch the trashy TV shows that I wasn’t supposed to watch.

I’m probably better off.

And I’m too much of a boring, old granny to watch shows like that these days. I’d rather lose brain cells on trashy reality TV. Because, you know, it’s. . . real.

Back to my marbled dessert.

Have you ever been flipping through the pages of a book and have a picture just jump out at you? It happens to me often, especially since I tend to ‘read’ books with large pictures and minimal print. I’m trying to expand my horizons.

Martha’s marble cupcakes were begging me to bake them, so I made them in mini cupcake form.

Because if they are mini, then you can eat more. Like, 6 more. Or 10. Whatever floats your boat.

The chocolate swirl is so fudgy.

I don’t love cake. I like it, but I don’t love it.

However, I find myself lusting after these cupcakes. Creamy vanilla cake and fudgy chocolate cake in one? Sign me up.

In fact, sign me up for about 16 batches, because that is how badly I want to eat them. Plus, I do everything in excess. Or so my dad, husband, brother and. . . basically every male in my life says.

You can’t resist this swirl.

The batter was enough to make me swoon.

I frosted a few with some basic buttercream frosting, and topped some others with a light dusting of powdered sugar. It was a race to first place, but the powdered sugar ones stole my heart.

The marble swirl seemed to be a mixture of fluffy cake and thick brownie – that is how fudge-like the chocolate portion is.

This cupcake is begging you to bake it.  You won’t regret it.

Mini Marble Cupcakes

from Martha Stewart

1 1/4 cups cake flour, sifted

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 stick butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tins with paper liners.

Sift together flour, salt and baking power. Combine milk and cream.

In an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Beat in vanilla. Add in flour mixture in 3 bathes, alternating with two additions of milk/cream mixture and beating until combined.

For chocolate batter, measure out 1 cup batter, and transfer to another bowl. Combine cocoa and boiling water into the bowl. Stir into 1 cup of reserved batter.

Fill cupcake tins with alternating spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate batter, filling each 3/4 full. Run the tip of a knife through the batter in figure eight motions to make swirls. (I used a toothpick.)

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool completely.

When finished, dust with powdered sugar or top with frosting.

And. . . I’m off to fitbloggin‘!

Say a prayer for Mr. How Sweet. Let’s hope he survives the weekend alone.

He’s thinking of hangin’ out with Tiger, Charlie Sheen, and Jesse James. That is probably the best way to stay out of trouble.

Over the past few weeks I have developed a new obsession.

I know that I’m late to the party, but boy, oh boy am I in love with hummus.

It is a nice obsession to have, especially since I can make it at home. Another nice point? Mr. How Sweet doesn’t like it.

Well, he thinks he doesn’t like it.

After I single-handedly took down a bag of Stacy’s pita chips,  Mr. How Sweet rescued a tiny crumb from the bottom on the bag for dipping. He only got a tiny taste, but I secretly think he loved it.

 

In my excitement of trying different hummus flavors, I came to the realization that I really just love it plain.

But I love roasted garlic. I knew it had a place in my heart hummus.

 

So, I bought some Sabra hummus in the roasted garlic flavor. It was tasty, but I wasn’t a fan of the chunks of garlic. They were actually a bit hard as well.

I don’t like chunks unless they come in the form of chocolate, peanut butter or bacon.

And even though my thighs are full of chunks, I love them too. But that is all. No garlic chunks for me.

 

Luckily, I had a few heads of roasted garlic in the fridge. I tend to roast a few on the weekends because they make such delicious additions to meals.

 

I also used cannellini beans because I love their smooth, creamy texture.

I threw them in the food processor and squeezed the roasted garlic cloves on top. If I could marry my food processor, I would.

Though, that might hurt.

 

Roasted Garlic White Bean Hummus

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 head roasted garlic

1 tablespoon tahini

1/4 cup olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Add beans and tahini to food processor. Squeeze roasted garlic cloves in. Turn on food processor and stream in olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

 

What is your favorite hummus flavor? And what flavors should I try? Remember – I don’t like chunks.

I also don’t like dipping vegetables in my hummus, which is probably why I stayed away so long. Hummus is often served with veggies. Gag.

 

If you have a non-chunky, non-vegetable hummus, serve it up!

I have this thing for dried cherries.

Let’s call it a . . . mutual relationship.

 

Speaking of mutual relationship’s, that is how Mr. How Sweet’s best man described their relationship at our wedding. Yes. That was kind of odd, and I’m so glad I have the video footage to forever remind them of that.

 

Dried cherries remind me of vacationing in Northern Michigan. We would always get a large bag of dried cherries at American Spoon, and they would be devoured within days.

And yes, I was the one who was doing the devouring.

 

Now that my tastebud’s have matured a bit, I couldn’t think of any better to go with dried cherries than chocolate.

Dark chocolate especially.

I don’t often enjoy dark chocolate. I prefer chocolate in the milk variety – you know, the kind that clogs arteries and adds bulk to your waistline.

But dark chocolate fits the bill for these tart cherries.

 

Plus, it’s the healthy kind of chocolate. So you can eats lots of it. Which equals eating lots of these cookies.

I made the cookies specifically with my dad in mind. He loves dried cherries, too, and chocolate. And northern Michigan, so I knew these would be a hit.

I gave him almost the entire batch, leaving 4-5 cookies on the counter at home to finish cooling.

It wasn’t 5 minutes later that I got a picture message from Mr. How Sweet. He asked ‘what is in these cookies that I wouldn’t like? They look weird. Don’t fib.’

 

I knew Mr. How Sweet wouldn’t like the cookies. He didn’t even try one. They hint of cherry peeking through the chocolate top was enough to turn him away.

He has that darn, 5 year-old palate.

 

You know, he is always looking for ways to be more like my dad, since my dad does everything perfectly. You’d think he would eat these cookies.

Maybe he will learn in time.

The chocolate cookie recipe comes from Mother Lovett’s recipe vault, and it is the same one I used for cookies at Christmas.

They dough is similar to crack – you can’t stop eating it. And once you do stop eating it and get it on the baking sheet, the most incredible, moist, chocolatey cookies are born.

 

These cookies melt in your mouth. The rich chocolate combined with the tart, sweet cherries is a perfect combination.

 

Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies

2 sticks butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and mix until combined.

Fold in chocolate chips and cherries. Roll into balls and set on baking sheet.

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

 

I am super excited to go to Fitbloggin’ this weekend.

I’m a little worried about Mr. How Sweet. He will probably be a shriveled bag of bones when I return home Sunday evening since he is incapable of cooking.

Who will check up on him?

 

 

A few months ago, I went through a blue corn chip addiction. I sent myself to rehab, otherwise know as ‘winter’ here in Pittsburgh.

 

See, the blue corn chip addiction was exacerbated by fresh, ripe avocados made into delicious guacamole.

And since avocado’s cost an arm and a leg here during the winter, I kicked the habit.

I’m not a chips-and-salsa gal, unless we are at a Mexican restaurant with homemade chips and I’m 4 margarita’s deep.

 

I had a half-full bag of blue corn chips that were most likely a bit stale and a few months old. In true Mother Lovett fashion, I didn’t let them go to waste and created this concoction to dip them in.

Unlike Mother Lovett, they weren’t 6 years expired. Yes, folks. That was perfectly acceptable.

 

I love corn. I love sweet corn.

If corn was the only vegetable on earth, I would love vegetables.

Speaking of those treacherous things, I ate a few veggies yesterday. Sandwiched in between some wheat bread and goat cheese, I chomped down a few roasted sweet peppers.

They were . . . eh, alright. I kind of enjoyed them. But I’m not ready to go back for more yet. It is a brand new relationship, and I’m not ready to jump in the sack yet.

See a trend here? All veggies I eat must be sweet.

 

This salsa is sweet, but also has a nice tang from the crisp, red onion.

 

Sweet Corn and Avocado Salsa

1 cup sweet, yellow corn

1/2 avocado, chopped

1/4 red onion, chopped

1/4 plum tomato, chopped

1 teaspoon chopped cilantro

spritz of fresh lemon juice

salt & pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients together and season with salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon.

Serve with tortilla or pita chips.

 

 

This salsa is deliciously addicting. My issue with blue corn chips is back, and with avocado’s coming into season, it will be back with a vengeance. Someone please stop me.

 

If you want to relive your childhood, have one of these bars. They are basically a peanut butter and jelly explosion.

I binged on peanut butter and jelly in my preschool and kindergarten years. For years after, any combination of peanut butter + jelly was extremely unappealing.

I grew out of that phase at some point in highschool, rediscovering that joy that is peanut butter and jelly.

 

And then I rediscovered it again last night. Just check out how stacked these bars are.

The thick peanut butter layer on the bottom just melts in your mouth.

These bars are not for the faint of heart. You have to love peanut butter.

 

Mr. How Sweet agreed – they are super peanut-buttery. After we both decided that they were only ‘ok,’ we each closet-ate about 3 more bars.

When Mr. How Sweet is in the kitchen and I cannot hear a peep, I know he is shoveling cookies into his mouth while standing over the sink. He usually is also chugging some diet coke.

At that point I love to ask ‘what the heck are you doing in there that you are so quiet?!’ To which I know he cannot respond since he has a mouthful of cookies.

‘Twas the situation last night, but I joined in on the fun.

 

The final verdict? These bars are amazing.

At first we thought they may need more jelly, but after multiple tastings, we decided that they have the perfect amount.

 

A third of the dough gets crumbled on top of the jelly before baking, which gives the dense bar a nice crumbly top.

 

Topped with a sprinkling of peanuts, this bar is a must-have.

 

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

from Martha Stewart

2 sticks butter, softened

3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups jam (I used grape)

1 cup peanuts

Preheat oven to 350.

Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan – I used Pam baking spray and it worked perfectly.

Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs and peanut butter until combined, about 2 minutes. Whisk together dry ingredients, adding to the butter mixture until just combined. Add vanilla.

Transfer two-thirds of mixture into baking dish, spreading evenly. Top with jam and spread to coat peanut butter mixture. Crumble remaining peanut butter mix on top. Sprinkle peanuts on top.

Bake until golden brown, 45-60 minutes. I baked for 45, tenting with foil after 20 minutes since the top was getting brown. Allow to cool for a few hours before cutting.

 

 

If you have a chance this week, give these bars a try. I think kids would love them, but I don’t know much about kids besides the lack of patience I have for them.

I know Mr. How Sweet loved them, and he is kind of like a big kid.

Luckily, I didn’t have to worry about peanut butter crumble crumbs getting stuck in his moustache, because he shaved it.

I went against every single thing I believe in and posted a picture. Hope you have a strong stomach.