Quick Eats: Carol’s Cookies

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It’s hard to believe that in just a few short weeks, the season five finale of “The Walking Dead” will air and undoubtedly bring a week’s worth of misery following it’s ending (after an extension to 90 minutes instead of just it’s usual hour-long time slot.)

It’s been a bizarre season thus far, to say the least- and one I will pick apart following the finale once I’ve wrapped my head around whatever direction it looks like the sixth season will be heading in- but one thing I’ve enjoyed immensely is watching the character development of former battered housewife turned bad ass assassin turned even more bad ass spy Carol Peletier over these past few episodes. This season has, without question, belonged to Carol and her rise to leadership and full-on “Flawless Queen” status (right alongside Michonne.)

In a recent episode, Carol- playing possum while trying to feel out the new community of Alexandria and it’s residents to determine whether they are friend or foe- sweetly shares a cookie recipe with the head of the community’s pantry in which she supplements eggs with applesauce.

The good folks over at AMC, knowing that people might want to try this in their own kitchen, put together a helpful recipe card for quick reference- and having done a post inspired by the “Walter Mitty” clementine cake not too long ago- I decided to make my own Carol Cookies and share the results!

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The only part of the recipe I changed was the 1/4 cup shortening (because I find it gross,) where I substituted butter, instead.

The cookies baked incredibly easy and tasted surprisingly delicious- like crispy chocolate chip cookies without the actual chips in them. I plan on making these again for the finale, and might even wear a hideous floral printed cardigan when I do- just like Carol.

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Dec 10

“The Walking Ginger-Dead”

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“The Walking Dead” mid-season finale aired a little more than a week ago, thus beginning the show’s brief hiatus until it’s return in February- and I’m already going through withdrawals. My Sunday nights feel empty and meaningless now, and I find myself curling up in the fetal position- and weeping- when I’m not checking off the days on the calendar until the show comes back (not really, but you know what I mean. I can’t wait for the second half of the season!)

Luckily, I have the upcoming holidays to distract me during the first few weeks of Michonne deprivation. I also have this “Walking Ginger-Dead” cookie kit I picked up in Western Massachusetts a couple of weeks ago to give me my walker fix with a semi-festive (and more delicious) twist. I haven’t made actual Christmas cookies in a couple of years, and it’s been even longer than that since I’ve baked and decorated gingerbread men- so I was excited to give this box full of slightly-morbid fun a try. I even included one of my numerous Daryl Dixon FUNKO figurines to help out while I snapped some photos of the process and finished cookies.

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The kit comes with everything: the gingerbread mix, four “walker” molds, white frosting mix, red and black icing, and a bag of multi-colored candy balls for decorating. I only had to scrounge up a minimal amount of supplies on my own (water, butter and honey.)

From there, it was just a matter of mixing the gingerbread, letting it settle and harden in the fridge for twenty minutes, and rolling it flat to make the molds. My Daryl figurine was there to keep a watchful eye on things.

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After the shapes were cut from the dough and stuck on a baking sheet, I only had to heat them up in the oven for about 10-15 minutes to get them warm and solid enough for decorating. As always- Daryl stayed vigilant.

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Now, I’m no artist, and the decorating process was messy, to say the least- but I personally think the cookies came out rather (and unexpectedly) cute once the icing had dried. It’s hard to make gingerbread men look gory and scary- but I did my best!

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The box made a total of ten cookies, and the entire process- mixing, baking, AND decorating- took just under an hour to complete. It was a lot of fun. Maybe not the most Christmas-y confection I could have whipped up, but fun nonetheless! Best of all? The cookies are delicious- although it felt a little weird biting into them when it’s usually the walkers biting into people.

If you’re in the mood to bake some unconventional gingerbread men of your own, or if you’re just as big a “Walking Dead” fan as I am and need something tasty to get you through the hiatus- you can purchase your own “The Walking Ginger-Dead” kit at Amazon for $11.25 by CLICKING HERE!

Thanks for the help, Daryl!

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Jun 20

Dessert Cart.

Baking Post: Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

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For as long as I can remember, my mom always made “Pineapple Upside-Down Cake” for every holiday, family function, special occasion, etc. It was sort of like fruitcake- always just, there, on the table (except it was much, much tastier than a fruitcake)- but it’s always been a sort of tradition in her house.

I had a craving for it tonight, and decided to make one myself. The recipe is simple enough, and if you’ve got an hour or so, it’s a nice change from a standard scoop of ice cream or cookie for dessert.

YOU WILL NEED:

* Butter.

* Brown sugar.

* 1 Springform pan.

* 1 Box of yellow cake mix (the brand is entirely up to you- just make sure it’s yellow cake).

* 1 Can of sliced pineapples.

* 1 Jar of maraschino cherries.

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OKAY, HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:

1. First, you are going to use butter to “grease” the bottom of your springform pan. Make sure it’s covered to avoid any sticking. If you’re not a fan of butter, any non-stick spray should do the trick.

2. Cover the bottom of the pan with the brown sugar. Don’t be stingy. You can use a lot and it won’t ruin the cake.

3. Place the pineapple slices on top of the brown sugar.

4. Place maraschino cherries in the center of each pineapple slice. From here, you can feel free to add more brown sugar on top of the pineapple slices and cherries.

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5. Preheat your oven to 350°. While the oven is heating up, prepare your yellow cake mixture as instructed on the box.

6. Pour the mixed yellow cake batter on top of your brown sugar/pineapple/cherry concoction.

7. Place pan inside oven and bake for approximately 50 minutes-1 hour. Be sure to do the toothpick test every so often to make sure your cake is cooked all the way through.

8. When your cake is done baking in the oven, let it sit on a cooling rack for 10-15 minutes. *BE CAREFUL: THE BROWN SUGAR WILL BE REALLY HOT* Heed my warning- I learned that the hard way.

9. Once cooled, flip your cake over onto a serving dish.

10. OPEN FOOD HOLE. SHOVE CAKE INSIDE.

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It came out pretty good- at least good enough where I know my mom would be proud of my efforts- although I can’t say for sure that I’ll carry on her tradition of baking one for every gathering I have with family and friends.

It’d be kinda’ funny, though.

Jan 23

Baking Post: Salted Caramel Cupcakes

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Yesterday was my birthday, and was celebrated in a quiet, low-key fashion. I worked most of the day, and spent most of the evening with my mom and some of my relatives at her house. It was nice.

Knowing my love of all things red velvet, which is only matched by my love of all things salted caramel, my mom, aunt, uncle, and cousin all teamed up to create the above-pictured “Red Velvet & Salted Caramel Cupcakes” in lieu of a traditional birthday cake for me. They were DELICIOUS, and I borrowed the recipe from my aunt to share with any foodies who may read this blog, or for anyone who is just interested in attempting to bake something new:

YOU WILL NEED:

* One box cake mix, and the ingredients to bake it (eggs, flour, milk, etc.) It can be any kind of cake mix, depending on your preference.

* Sea salt.

* 4-5 Heath Bars (Butterfinger bars are also a good substitute)

* Caramel ice cream topping

* Buttercream icing

* Squeeze bottle

OKAY, HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:

1. Bake your cupcakes according to the package directions.

2. When the cupcakes are nearly done baking, pour the caramel ice cream topping into a measuring cup.

3. Add 1/2 tablespoon of sea salt per 8 ox. of caramel. You may have to add a little more, depending on how salty you want them to taste.

4. Warm the mixture in the microwave for one minute, and then stir well. From there, pour the mixture into the squeeze bottle.

5. When the cupcakes are done baking, use the squeeze bottle to inject the mixture into the center of the cupcakes. Be sure to save some of the mixture for later! When all of the cupcakes have been filled, move them to a cooling area.

6. Keeping the Heath (or Butterfinger) bars in their packaging, HULK SMASH ‘EM INTO BITS. When you’re done, unwrap them and pour the pieces into a bowl.

7. When the cupcakes are cooled, frost them with the buttercream icing, sprinkle them (or dunk them) into the broken up Heath/Butterfinger bits, and drizzle more of the salted caramel mixture over them.

8. SHOVE CUPCAKES INTO MOUTH.

The sweetness of the red velvet cake, the salted caramel filling, and the broken up bits of Butterfinger made for an unexpected and pretty awesome flavor combination. Definitely one I never would have thought of before.

Before I wrap this entry up: many, many thanks to everyone who sent birthday wishes and kind words yesterday! It really meant a lot. I love you all and I had a great day!

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And can we all just stop for a moment and appreciate this birthday card my mom gave me? Holy shit.

Legally Redhead

The Life and Times of Ashley Elizabeth

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