I can’t walk past an Anthropologie without going in. Fact of life. Moth to a flame and all that. Anyway, during one of our recent pit stops into the Santa Monica location, we spotted this book and had. to. have. The KitchenAid ice cream maker needs some love! But we didn’t buy it from Anthropologie. Cuz we’re cheap. We got it from Amazon for like half the price.

So. The ice cream. We made the Sweet Corn and Black Raspberry first. It was insane. Corn ice cream might sound kinda weird but it was amazing. Sweet and creamy, with a ribbon of sweet-tart raspberry sauce.

We’ve got plans for many, many more batches of ice cream. Check out some of the flavors on Jeni’s website. Anyone want to come share a pint?

- Jessica

These delicious coconut sandwich cookies made me the queen of the office today. Thank you, Martha!

A couple weeks ago, we grabbed Martha’s Holiday Cookies magazine from the grocery store on a whim, and I’ve slowly been baking my way through it. Today’s tasty treats received rave reviews… in fact I think they might possibly be the best cookies I’ve ever made, ever…

With the help of Colonel Mustard, my trusty stand mixer, I had an army of coconut snowballs assembled by the time I finally collapsed into bed around midnight last night. Totally worth all the hard work– they were insanely delicious!

Click here for the recipe.

Enjoy!

- Jessica

My mom tore this recipe out of a Sunset magazine back in 1997, and she’s been making this apple crisp ever since. The recipe came from the bakery at the Los Rios Ranch apple farm in Oak Glen, CA… a tiny speck on the map about 250 miles north of San Francisco. It’s been a family favorite for years, and I bet it will become a favorite in your family, too!

Step 1: Get a mixture of apples– half tart, half sweet. I usually double the recipe so I end up using 9-10 apples total. I get half Granny Smith and then for the rest I’ll get a mixture of Gravenstein, Ambrosia, Fuji, or other sweet/crisp apples.

Step 2: Peel and core the apples…

You’ll end up with a really pretty mixture of apple peels!

Step 3: Slice the apples really thin, then mix them around in the baking dish with a little sugar, flour, and cinnamon.

Step 4: The crumb topping! It’s just a simple mixture of oats, flour, brown sugar, and butter. Mix it up with your fingers– a little messy, sure, but it’s the only way to get the right consistency.

Step 5: Spread the topping over the apples, then bake at 350 degrees for about 45-55 minutes.

Step 6: Spoon some into a bowl and top with vanilla ice cream! If you want to get really decadent, a little caramel drizzle is the way to go.

Here’s the complete ingredient list and recipe (if you want to put it in a 9 x 13 baking dish like I did, make sure you double the recipe).

Ingredients:

• 8  cups  peeled, cored, and thinly sliced apples such as Gravenstein, Granny Smith, or Stayman Winesap
• 1/2  cup  granulated sugar
• 3/4  cup  plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2  teaspoons  ground cinnamon (or more to taste)
• 1  cup  regular rolled oats
• 3/4  cup  firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2  cup  (1/4 lb.) butter (cold), cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 3/4  cup  chopped pecans (optional)
• Vanilla ice cream (optional)
• Caramel sauce (optional)

Directions:

1. In a 9-inch square baking dish or shallow 1 1/2- to 2-quart casserole, mix apples with granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, and cinnamon.

2. In a bowl, combine rolled oats, brown sugar, butter, and 3/4 cup flour. Rub with your fingers until butter pieces are no longer distinguishable. Stir in chopped pecans, if using. Sprinkle topping evenly over apples.

3. Bake dessert in the middle of a 350° oven until apples are tender when pierced and topping is browned, 45 minutes to 1 hour. If topping browns first, drape with foil.

4. Spoon the apple crisp, warm or cool, into bowls. Top portions with vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

- Jessica

It was getting close to 8:00 and we still hadn’t even started thinking about dinner. We walked to the grocery store (it’s basically right behind our house) and walked around somewhat aimlessly, picking up a few of the essentials as we roamed the aisles.

“Know what sounds good?” I asked, rhetorically. “…breakfast for dinner.”

And we figured if we were going to cook up some bacon and eggs anyway, we might as well go the extra step and make breakfast sandwiches. You know, because we have this thing for sandwiches. So we grabbed some maple bacon, cheddar cheese, and sourdough (already had eggs at home). Twenty minutes later we had toasty melty bacon-y goodness. It was awesome.

That is all.

- Jessica

Still not perfect, but definitely better. I think this recipe might be my winner. I overbaked them just slightly, but the color, flavor, and texture were an improvement over my last attempt. And the vanilla bean cream cheese frosting is AMAZING. If I add just a little extra buttermilk and take the cupcakes out of the oven a bit earlier, I think I’ll be golden. It was also one of my first attempts with a pastry bag, which definitely helped in terms of presentation, but maybe I’ll play around with the different tips to see if one of them results in a prettier shape.

Anyone want to come help us eat these? ‘Cuz all this experimenting is so not good for our waistlines….

- Jessica

Let me be clear. I’m a fairly skilled baker. My cupcakes/cookies/pies/bars are consistently met with resounding praise at both my office and my husband’s.

But for some reason I just can’t crack the code of Red Velvet. And it’s supposed to be in my blood! My grandma is WAY more Southern than Paula Deen. She cooks with just as much butter, and she doesn’t have a fake tan. So there.

Anyway, I don’t get this. I used this recipe, and based on all the stellar reviews I thought I had found a winner. After limited success with other recipes in the past, I was pretty excited about this one. But I just took a bit of my finished product and… meh. What happened? Was it because I used 1% milk instead of whole? It was such a small amount, so it shouldn’t have made much of a difference. Maybe it was because it’s crazy hot in L.A. tonight and I could barely distinguish between the temperature in my kitchen and the internal temperature of my oven. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still pretty tasty. But that perfectly moist, chocolatey, deep red cupcake– true red velvet–eludes me. And I kinda sorta promised I would make red velvet cupcakes for a friend’s wedding. What was I thinking?!

So I need your help. If you’ve had success with a red velvet recipe, please share! I know someone out there has to have a good one. I have about a month to experiment.

Thanks y’all!!!

- Jessica

P.S. the cupcake pictured above is not one of mine. It’s actually from the kitchen sink blog, and Kristin used Chockylit’s recipe… which looks like it might be a contender. It’s backed by a lot of research! But I’ll wait to hear from you guys first…

The combination might sound a little odd, but the result is surprisingly yummy! It’s creamy yet refreshing, slightly earthy and not too sweet. The color is lovely. Plus it’s kinda healthy! Avocados have omega-3s, so you can justify the indulgence (sort of).

I found this recipe in Sunset‘s Best Recipes of 2010 and I’ve had it in the back of my mind ever since. The other night we finally got the chance to break out our ice cream maker (best use of a Williams-Sonoma gift card EVER, btw).

Here’s the recipe if you want to give it a whirl:

Ingredients

2  ripe medium avocados (about 1 lb. total), chilled
1/4  cup  sugar
1 1/2  tablespoons  fresh lemon juice
1  can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1  can (13.5 oz.) coconut milk*, chilled

(I added a few drops of vanilla just ’cause… but it probably doesn’t make much difference)

Preparation

1. Pit avocados. Scoop flesh into a food processor or blender, add sugar and lemon juice, and whirl until smooth. Add sweetened condensed milk and coconut milk and whirl to blend.

2. Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. Freeze a metal bowl.

3. Scrape ice cream into cold bowl. Cover and freeze until firm enough to scoop, about 2 hours.

*For a delicate flavor, buy real coconut milk. For a bigger coconut hit, buy a product made with coconut extract.

Make ahead: Freeze airtight up to 2 weeks.

Enjoy!

- Jessica

Our dear friend Jennifer made a special request for my coconut cream pie recipe, so here it is! This pie was surprisingly easy to make and pretty darn delicious. I do have to say, though, that it’s even better after being refrigerated overnight. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 cup flaked coconut, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (9 inch) pastry shell, baked
MERINGUE:
3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
6 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup flaked coconut

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in milk until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolks; return all to pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in chopped coconut, butter and vanilla until butter is melted. Pour hot filling into crust.
2. For meringue, in a small mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Spread evenly over hot filling, sealing edges to crust. Sprinkle with flaked coconut.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until the meringue is golden. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. Refrigerate leftovers in a tightly sealed container.

- Jessica

So these are the cookies I tweeted about yesterday. Dark Chocolate + Caramel + Sea Salt. For the love of all things good and holy you must make them. But don’t say I didn’t warn you about the inevitable gut bomb you will experience after you indulge. You have no power against it.

Most people who know my sister-in-law Corrie wouldn’t necessarily describe her as a baker. For years, her family noticed something a little funny about her brownies…. turns out she was using olive oil instead of vegetable oil. But she has more than redeemed herself by introducing me to this recipe, which she found over on Two Peas and Their Pod. It combines two of my greatest loves– dark chocolate and caramel– and the touch of sea salt is perfection. If you’re craving that salty/sweet combination, look no further.

Here’s the recipe:

Chocolate Caramel Cookies with Sea Salt

yields about 16 cookies.

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter
7 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa (use dark if you can find it)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Soft caramel, rolled into little balls
Sea salt

Preheat oven to 350ºF; line 2 baking sheets with baking paper, lightly coated with cooking spray. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Sift together flour, soda, and salt; set aside.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat; stir in cocoa powder and sugars (mixture will resemble coarse sand). Add yogurt and vanilla, stirring to combine. Add flour mixture, stirring until moist. Wrap the chocolate dough around the caramel balls. Place balls on cookie sheets and sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until almost set. Cool on pans 2 to 3 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks.

Enjoy! But seriously, guys… pace yourselves. These’ll sneak up on you. Like ninjas. Delicious little caramel-filled ninjas.

- Jessica

Every month I look forward to getting my Real Simple magazine. Yeah, I know it’s meant for 40-year-old ladies with kids. Call me an old soul. I don’t care. I love me some Real Simple. Remember that episode episode of Parks and Rec where the whole office goes hunting and Ann just goes so she can “get her Real Simple magazine on”? She went up like 10 points in my book, right there.

What, you guys don’t watch Parks and Rec? …You’re missing out on life.

Aaaaanyway, there’s a really yummy easy recipe in the June issue and I thought I’d share it with you…

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 ounces each)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 3⁄4 cup couscous
• 3/4 pound cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
• 1/4 pound snap peas, thinly sliced crosswise (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup torn fresh basil
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• crumbled feta cheese (my addition)

Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season the chicken with the paprika, cumin, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook until golden brown and cooked through, 6 to 7 minutes per side; transfer to plates.
2. Meanwhile, place the couscous in a large bowl. Add 1 cup hot tap water, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes; fluff with a fork. Add the tomatoes, snap peas, basil, lemon zest, lemon juice, the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and toss to combine.
3. Slice the chicken and serve with the couscous.

**Notes:

If you’re only feeding two people, just halve the recipe. It’ll be the perfect amount.

We grilled the chicken instead of pan-frying. Highly recommended. I also threw a little crumbled feta into the couscous salad, which I think totally completed the recipe. That nice little slightly salty bite is the perfect addition.

I used Israeli couscous, which is a little harder to find (Trader Joe’s has it) but it’s a little heartier and chewier than regular couscous. I’m sure it’s delicious with the regular stuff but I’m a big fan of the Israeli couscous’s texture.

You don’t need to do anything with the snap peas; just slice them really thin and throw them right into the mix. If they’re really fresh, they taste like candy… I eat ‘em straight outta the bag. Mmmmm.

Buon Appetito!

- Jessica