Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Stinky Lois

We went to see Lois the corpse flower at the HMNS the day she started blooming. Luckily, we didn't experience any of her stinkiness but it was neat to say we saw her (corpse flowers don't bloom very often so this was a big deal).

Monday, August 2, 2010

S'mores Whoopie Pies

Growing up, I was a girl scout for several years so I KNOW about s'mores and I'm a sucker for them. I've tried a s'mores cupcake recipe and it was so-so. Then I came across this recipe for s'mores whoopie pies and decided to give it a try.

Overall, I give it an A-. The graham cookies to filling ratio is a little off but that can easily be corrected.


Graham Cookie
1 1/2 cup graham flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
4 tbsp vegetable shortening
1 c packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Place rack in the center of the oven and prehead to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment or silpat mat.

In a medium bowl, stir together both flours, baking powder, and salt.

Using a mixer, beat butter, shortening, and brown sugar until light and cream, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and buttermilk and beat until combined.

In another bowl, combine milk, baking soda, and vinegar. Add this mixture slowly to the batter along with the flour mixture and beat on low speed until completely combined.

Drop about 1 tablespoon of batter onto baking sheet, repeat spacing them at least 2 inches apart.

Bake for about 10 min until the cakes begin to brown.

Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool on the sheet for 3-5 min before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

Spread one cookie with marshmallow cream and another cookie with chocolate ganache. Put the cookies together.

Makes about 40 two-inch cakes, about 20 assembled whoopie pies.

Marshmallow Cream
1 1/2 c marshmallow creme
1 1/4 c vegetable shortening
1 c confectioner's sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract

In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitter with the paddle beat together marshmallow fluff and shortening, starting on low and increasing to medium speed until the mixture is smooth and fluffy, about 3 min.

Reduce mixer speed to low, add confectioner's sugar and vanilla, and beat until incorporated. Increase mixture speed to medium and beat until fluffy.

Chocolate Ganache
1 small bag (12oz) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Place your chocolate in a large, heat proof bowl.

Heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat just until in bubbles.

Pour the heated cream over the chocolate in the bowl and let it sit for about 10 minutes, until the chocolate is melted. Stir with a whisk until smooth.

Allow the mixture to rest until firm enough to spread, about 2 hours. Or you can refrigerate it for about 30 min until it is firm enough to spread, shirting every 10 min.