Category Archives: Snacks

Girl Scout Cookie-Stuffed Brownies (VIDEO)

When winter winds down, you can feel it in the air. You can almost smell it coming. Your instincts take over, and you know.

It’s Girl Scout Cookie Season.

Girl Scout Cookies are America’s guilty pleasure. We all love to indulge in a few from time to time (or, you know, a boxful). I don’t know what it is about those Girl Scouts, but they sure know how to make tasty cookies. Plus, there’s such a plethora of tantalizing flavors that it’s impossible not to find one you like. Personally, my top 3 are Tagalongs, Samoas, and Thin Mints. I order a couple boxes of each to keep me going for a while (or at least a week).

Now, once you get past the initial stuff-my-face-oh-my-god-I’ve-missed-you-girl-scout-cookies stage, you start to crave more. Maybe you buy that Girl Scout Cookie flavored ice cream from the store. Or perhaps you find a way to work them into all three meals of the day. Me, I always aim to bake with the things I love. So really, the birth of these Girl Scout Cookie-Stuffed Brownies was only natural.

Who doesn’t love a good brownie? Fudgy, rich, and decadent, they are a truly beloved dessert. Make ‘em with dark cocoa powder, and you’ve got some seriously dark and indulgent treats. The only way they could be improved upon is to literally stuff whole Girl Scout Cookies into the brownies’ fudgy interiors. Oh, and a delicious glaze never hurts. This is the sweetest form of sin. Can dessert be heavenly and devilish? Try one of these brownies and you’ll know the answer to that one.

I used two of my favorites for these treats: Tagalongs and Samoas. However, just about any of the Girl Scout Cookies will work beautifully, so pick your favorite. Then, once my brownies were stuffed and baked, I topped them with coordinating glazes. So, for the Tagalongs, I did a creamy peanut butter glaze. For the Samoas, I did a caramel-coconut glaze. The topping acts as a little hint for the cookie you’re about to discover buried beneath the brownie’s dark depths. It’s the perfect finishing touch, like frosting on a cake or butter on a biscuit.

Love Girl Scout Cookies? Then you’re going to fall in love with these dark, decadent brownies. Two delicious treats fused into one, it’s almost too good to be true. Best of all, they’re so simple to make. And yet, anybody who tries one will be so impressed. It’s our little secret.

Excuse me, but I’ve got to go sink my teeth into one of these brownies. There’s a Tagalong just begging to get out.

A Few Tips Before You Get Cooking:

  1. If you plan to use different flavored cookies for the filling, then you’ll need a different glaze.
    • If you’re using Thin Mints, do a drizzle of hot fudge. You can even add a drop of mint extract to it.
    • If you’re using Do-Si-Do’s, stick with the PB glaze.
    • If you’re using Tresfoils, you could do the hot fudge glaze, the PB glaze, or a plain caramel glaze.
  2. Don’t feel like making the brownie batter from scratch? Go ahead and use a boxed mix.
  3. You can make these using one kind of cookie or all of them if you wish. It’s up to you!
  4. If you’re making multiple flavors, make sure you designate which brownies are which before baking. I had some issues with that and wound up having the cut into some of them to recall what kind of cookie they had before glazing them.
  5. Watch the video above to see how to make these babies step-by-step!

Girl Scout Cookie-Stuffed
By the Smart Cookie Cook

Yield: about 18 brownies

Ingredients:

  • One batch brownie batter, recipe follows (or use a store-bought mix)
  • 18 Girl Scout Cookies of your choice (I used Tagalongs and Samoas)

For the Peanut Butter Glaze:

  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 2 tbsp. butter, melted and warm
  • 3 tbsp. powdered sugar

For the Caramel-Coconut Glaze:

  • One bottle caramel sundae syrup (like Smucker’s)
  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut

For the Mint Chocolate Glaze:

  • 1 cup hot fudge, store-bought or homemade
  • 1/4 teaspoon mint extract

For the brownie batter:
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 2 1/4 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups Dark Baking Cocoa (like Hershey’s) or Dutch Process Cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

  1. Make the brownies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two muffin/cupcake tins with cupcake liners. Set aside.
  2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, baking powder, salt, vanilla, and baking cocoa, but be gentle. Overmixing produces cakey brownies. Set aside.
  3. In a small pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the sugar until completely dissolved. Stir warm sugar mixture into cocoa mixture just until combined. Gently stir in flour until just combined.
  4. Using a ladle or an ice cream scoop, pour about a tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup. It should be about 1/4-1/3 full. Then place one cookie into the center of each and cover with another dollop of brownie batter. They should wind up being 2/3 – 3/4 full. Note: if you are making different flavors of cookies, make sure you designate which brownies are which before baking so you know which glaze to use on them.
  5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Do not overbake.
  6. Let brownies rest for five minutes then gently remove them from the muffin tins and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
  7. When the brownies are cool, make the glaze(s).
    • For Tagalong-stuffed brownies, make the peanut butter glaze: Whisk warm, melted butter together with the peanut butter and powdered sugar until smooth. Using a fork or a condiment dispenser, drizzle glaze onto brownies.
    • For Samoa-stuffed brownies, make the coconut-caramel glaze: Drizzle caramel syrup onto each brownie. Sprinkle with coconut.
    • For Thin Mint-stuffed brownies, make the mint chocolate glaze: Heat fudge in the microwave just until warm. Whisk in mint extract. Using a fork or a condiment dispenser, drizzle glaze onto brownies.
    • For Do-Si-Do-stuffed brownies, make the peanut butter glaze (see Tagalong-stuffed brownies above).
    • For Tresfoils-stuffed brownies, make either the peanut butter glaze (see Tagalong-stuffed brownies above), a plain caramel glaze (using the caramel sundae syrup), or a plain chocolate glaze (using the hot fudge).
  8. Store in an airtight container, preferably in the fridge. Allow to come to room temperature before eating. Enjoy!

White Chocolate Macadamia Mini Pies

Picture swirling peaks of fluffy white chocolate mousse cradled in a cookie crust and crowned with bits of macadamia nuts. No, it’s not a dream; it’s my White Chocolate Macadamia Mini Pies.

I love me me some White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies. That may be my favorite cookie flavor. Naturally, I took it upon myself to morph those tasty cookies into pie form. But not just any pie; mini pie, because I don’t want to have to share with anybody. I want this baby all to myself.

These personal pies start with a cookie crust. Literally. It’s the cookie dough from my favorite White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookies pressed into a mini pan like a crust and baked. The only change I make is to cut down on some of the sugar and omit the white chocolate chips.

You see, instead of studding the crust with white chocolate chips, I fill it with the most incredible, fluffy white chocolate mousse. I think this is what a cloud in Heaven tastes like. Luscious and creamy, with just the right amount of white chocolate flavor, it’s rich yet light at the same time. This mousse will melt in you mouth. I didn’t even need the cookie crust; I could go to town on the filling alone.

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Tri-Chocolate Bookies

Some of the most incredible foods in the culinary world are hybrids, a product of two foods fused into one. Take for example pumpkin pie cheesecake, buffalo chicken pizza, French Toast Cupcakes, or S’mores Ice Cream. It’s only natural to join two things we love together, especially when we as humans can be quite indecisive creatures (well…I am at least). One of my favorite food fusions is the brownie cookie. It’s everything you love above a fudgy brownie in the form of a handheld cookie. The two head honchos of desserts (the cookie and the brownie) decided they weren’t quite awesome enough on their own, and that they should work together as one.

Teamwork is such a beautiful thing.

My Tri-Chocolate Bookies are the lovechild of a fudgy brownie and a snackable cookie (brownie + cookie = bookie). They look like cookies, and you can hold them in your hand easily (unlike crumbly brownies). However, when you bite in, you find this crazy soft and fudgy center that perfectly resembles the interior of a brownie. It messes with your mind a little. Are you eating a cookie? A brownie? IS THIS REAL LIFE?

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Birthday Cake Oreo Milkshake: Happy 100th, Oreo!

Ever since my childhood, there has been one black and white cookie consistently present in my life: the Oreo. Its cream-filled center and crunchy chocolate cookies are indescribably enticing. I never could, and still cannot, eat just one.

Is it the plethora of ways to consume an Oreo that makes it so exciting? You can screw off the top cookie and enjoy two delicious halves. Perhaps you save the cream-covered cookie for last, or maybe you can’t wait that long. You can lick off the cream before eating the cookies plain. Some people like to peel off that sweet cream and stack it layer upon layer so you have a quadruple-stuffed Oreo. Or you can always go the classic route of dunking the cookies in milk until they reach the point of melt-in-your-mouth perfection.

Or maybe you’re too impatient for any of that, maybe you just like to stuff ‘em in your mouth, as many as you can handle at once.

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80-Cal Raspberry Hot Cocoa & The 2nd Smart Cookie Chatter (Video)

Everybody has a hot drink of choice. I come from a family of coffee addicts, although I won’t touch the stuff. I typically drink tea to give myself a small caffeine boost in the morning, even though I hate tea too (don’t judge me). In all honesty, I’m not a coffee or tea person; my warm beverage of choice is hot chocolate.

Sure, hot chocolate doesn’t have caffeine, but it does taste approximately 1,000,000,000 times better than coffee or tea. And why is that? Because it’s chocolate; molten, liquid, creamy chocolate. If I could, I would down at least a mug or two every morning. That would be one sweet, sweet way to start the day.

There’s only one problem. Hot chocolate isn’t exactly low-calorie. In fact, the reason why I choke down a cup of tea every morning instead of bathing in drinking smooth hot chocolate is because tea has numerous health benefits and zero calories. Hot cocoa can’t really say either of those things.

Most of the time, when I need my hot cocoa kick, I turn to the 25-calorie packs of the instant stuff. They’re pretty good, but lacking in the usual richness provided by the real deal. So what’s a smart cookie to do? I’ll tell you: I whipped up a Raspberry Hot Cocoa for only 80 calories that tastes just as rich and indulgent as hot cocoa that will cost you triple the calories.

Smooth and creamy, this hot cocoa has tons of chocolate flavor, plus a sweet raspberry kiss. It’s warm and comforting, boosting that must-have frothy top. Suddenly, it’s okay to indulge in a mug of this warm chocolate stuff. Rejoice.

A Few Tips Before You Get Cooking:

  1. Don’t like raspberry? Leave it out and enjoy a classic hot cocoa. Or you can use a different extract flavor like mint.
  2. Note that if you don’t use the unsweetened variety of almond milk, you’ll be looking at much more calories and fat, plus the almond milk is a little thicker and creamier, which is ideal for hot chocolate. Unsweetened almond milk has 35 calories per cup, whereas regular 2% milk has 137 calories per cup and skim milk has 86 calories per cup.
  3. Looking for more low-cal hot cocoa? Try my Cinnamon Swirl Hot Chocolate for only 84 calories.

80-Calorie Raspberry Hot Cocoa

By The Smart Cookie Cook

Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp. sugar
  • 1 packet zero-calorie sweetener (like Splenda)
  • Pinch salt
  • ½ tsp. raspberry extract
  • Optional: marshmallows, for garnish (note: this will add a few extra calories, but marshmallows are relatively low in calorie as long as you stick to a small handful)

Directions:

  1. In a small pot over medium-low heat, whisk the cocoa powder into the almond milk until completely dissolved. Whisk in the sugar, zero-calorie sweetener, and salt.
  2. Continue to cook, whisking occasionally, until hot chocolate just begins to simmer. Remove from heat and whisk in the raspberry extract. Pour into a mug and top with marshmallows, if desired. Enjoy!

BUT WAIT.

There’s more.

I would like to present the second edition ofSmart Cookie Chatter. You guys gave me your questions on everything from my favorite pasta dish to making German pretzels. Check out my answers in the video below, and join in the chatter next week! Head over to the Smart Cookie Chatter Page and ask your question. Don’t be shy; I really love hearing from you. The topic this week is “kitchen conundrums.” I want to help you fix whatever troubles plague you in the kitchen! However, don’t limit your questions to this. You’re free to ask anything you want. Inquire about what color socks I wear, if you really want to.

Check out last week’s Smart Cookie Chatter here.

Recipes from this video:
3-Cheese Wagon Wheels with Spinach

Linguine with Brown Butter Sage Sauce

Orange Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am a cookie fiend. I love baking up the little devils, and I love devouring them even more. Cookies are just so fun. There are a myriad of flavors, textures, shapes, and sizes in the cookie world, a cookie for everyone. Plus, they’re generally pretty simple to make, a great choice for the beginner baker or for any foodie craving something sweet. They’re shareable, delicious, and addicting. Cookies are, dare I say, the perfect dessert.

One of my favorite things to do with cookies is shake up a classic. I love me some Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are honest-to-chocolatey-goodness the best I’ve ever had. I didn’t think they could get any better, that is, until I added some chunks of orange-toffee chocolate into the batter.

Sweet mother of toffee.

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PB & J Dip (Video)

Sometimes, when you least expect it, a stroke of genius hits you.

That’s how I get all my greatest foodspirations*. I’ll be sitting around (hungry), thinking about food (is there anything else worth thinking about?), and then some beautiful idea hits me out of the blue so suddenly that I’m practically knocked right out of my chair. This PB & J Dip was born from such unexpected grace.

It was one of those situation where the second I thought of it, I had to make it right then and there. Well, sort it. I thought of this when I was tucked snugly in bed, trying to fall asleep, so I didn’t exact hop up from my half-conscious state and flee to the kitchen. But I did make if first thing the next day. Thank goodness I did.

This is the easiest dip you will ever make in your life. You only need four ingredients, peanut butter, jelly, whipping cream and powdered sugar, and it comes together in mere minutes. But that’s not the best part, my little cookies. This dip is crazy-insane, blow-your-mind, hug-your-grandma, praise-the-heavens delicious. So, it’s easy to whip together and downright divine to eat…is this real life?

Well, if I am dreaming, then no one pinch me. I wan to stay in my bowl of PB & J deliciousness forever. With layers of luscious, fluffy peanut butter mousse and tart yet sweet jelly, it is like dipping into heaven’s bowl. Top it off with a layer of salty roasted peanuts and discover textural bliss between the light, creamy dip and the crunchy nuts. This is what all salty-sweet foods dream of being.

It’s that familiar flavor combo you loved served up in a new, indulgent way. Grab your dipper of choice and dive in.

I serve this PB & J Dip with hunks of moist pound cake, salty pretzels, and crisp mini vanilla wafers. They are all perfect vessels in their own way. Which one you choose is entirely up to you.

A Few Tips Before You Get Cooking:

  1. Want to whip you whipped cream really fast? There are two keys to speedy whipping: super cold cream and a chilled bowl. Keep you cream in the fridge until you’re ready to use it so it’s nice and chilled and, if possible, let your bowl chill out in the fridge for a while too.
  2. Use whatever flavor jelly you like best.
  3. I don’t recommend using crunchy peanut butter. It will ruin the smooth texture of the mousse.
  4. Crackers, brownie chunks, shortbread, and celery sticks would also make great dippers.
  5. Instantly turn this dip into a trifle: Layer crisp ladyfingers between the PB and J layers and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
  6. This dip is PERFECT for parties. Dip is the ideal party food, plus who doesn’t love peanut butter and jelly?
  7. Make sure you watch my how-to video below!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Dip
By the Smart Cookie Cook

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup + 2 tbsp. powdered sugar
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 12-oz. jar of jelly (your choice of flavor)
  • Salted roasted peanuts for garnish and crunch
  • Assorted dippers: chunks of pound cake, vanilla wafers, pretzels

Directions:

  1. In a large mixing bowl, whip the cream and sugar on high speed until stiff peaks form.
  2. Gently fold in the peanut butter until well incorporated.
  3. In a large glass bowl or trifle dish, spread one-third of the peanut butter mousse onto the bottom of the bowl. Top with half of the jelly and spread out evenly. Add another third of peanut butter and spread out. Top with the other half of jelly, followed by the last third of the peanut butter. Smooth out evenly. Your layers should be: PB, jelly, PB, jelly, PB.
  4. Top with a generous sprinkle of roasted peanuts and serve. Store leftover covered in the fridge for up to 2 days.

*Foodspiration – n – a brilliant inspiration involving food.

Classic Crispy French Fries

My little cookies, I must confess something about myself to you.

When I was little, I had a problem, or perhaps “obsession” would be the better word. I have mentioned the deep, all-consuming love I had for potatoes as a child a few times before, and I have never once exaggerated. Potatoes were my main food group between the ages of 6 and 12. I could not get enough of them. It didn’t help that I was a picky eater, so I didn’t eat much else. In the morning, I would eat a hashbrown with cheese melted on top. Then, I would come home from school and wolf down almost an entire bag of sour cream and onion potato chips (still my favorite). And for dinner: I gorged on my all time favorite cheese fries from Giovanni’s Pizza, the incredible pizzeria I was so blessed to live within walking distance from as a kid.

Whether it be mashed potatoes, hashbrowns, or potato pancakes, I ate every food involving potatoes to satiate my starch cravings. However, my true achilles heel was french fries. At that young age, I knew of no love stronger than the one I harbored for french fries. I would make a meal out of them, eating ungodly large piles in one sitting. They were just so good. (Would you be shocked if I told you I went through a pudgy stage right around this time?)

Eventually, my dad rationed me to only eating fries twice a week, in the hopes of working some other food groups into my system. This was a crushing blow, but perhaps for the better. Nowadays, I eat much healthier (not to mention, I lost the pudge). My diet consists of many more health-conscious choice and a lot loss french fries. But I’ve got to say, they are still one of my absolute favorite foods.

When I choose to indulge, I still love to scarf down some fries. There’s just something so impeccably addicting about those golden, deep-fried suckers that lures me in every time. If you offer me fries, I could muster up a serious amount of strength and force myself to pass them up, but as soon as I eat one, I’m a goner.

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French Toast Cupcakes w/ Maple Buttercream (VIDEO)

When you love a certain food, you can’t help but ponder if there’s a way to make it even better. For example, french toast is pretty delicious, right? Golden, buttery bread gets dredged in batter, fried to perfection, then dusted with cinnamon and drizzled with syrup. It’s basically breakfast perfection. Could we possibly make it any better?

Yes. We can stuff all of its deliciousness into a cupcake.

These French Toast Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream Frosting and a Maple-Cinnamon Drizzle are an exemplary case of food fusion gone right. We take a classic breakfast and morph it into a favorite handheld dessert to create a treat that is out of this world. Is it breakfast or dessert? My instincts tell me it’s both, and I don’t like to argue with my instincts (especially when there’s food involved).

Now, would you believe this is the first cupcake recipe to pop up on Smart Cookie? That’s kind of crazy to consider, seeing as I was known as “The Cupcake Queen” in high school (true story). This site is more than overdue for a cupcake recipe, and I am happy to oblige. We might as well kick off this cupcake debut with a bang!

When you sink your teeth into one of these delicious devils, you will be baffled, confused, disoriented even. Why is this so? Because these cupcakes taste exactly like french toast, which is going to throw your brain for a loop. However, once you get past the initial befuddlement from trying to decipher if what you’re eating is actually a cupcake or french toast, you will proceed to a state of breakfast-flavored bliss. The cupcake is fluffy and moist, swirled with a cinnamon struesel for an extra punch of french toast flavor. Then, the mound of frosting that crowns each cupcake is so smooth and luscious with maple flavor permeating every melt-in-your-mouth bite. The finishing touch to all this indulgence is a sinful maple-cinnamon drizzle that mimics the final drenching of syrup that french toast receives.

Intimidated by this three-part baked good? Don’t be. It’s simpler than it sounds and can be broken down into three easy steps: the cupcakes, the frosting, and the drizzle. Make the cupcakes one day then make the frosting and drizzle the next, if you like. I’ve whipped up a video to show you just how doable these French Toast Cupcakes are. Don’t wait a moment longer to take these cupcake cuties from a dream to a delicious reality.

A Few Tips Before You Get Cooking:

For the Cupcakes

For the Buttercream

  1. Watch the video below for all my best tips and tricks.
  2. You can make these cupcakes without frosting and dub them as muffins instead. Feel free to add a bit of extra streusel if you decide to do so!
  3. Can’t find cinnamon chips? You can just do a drizzle of plain syrup instead, but it won’t be quite as thick.
  4. Piping requires more frosting than just spreading it on, so you will need to double the frosting recipe below.
  5. I used imitation maple extract. If you use the real deal, the measurements may not be the same because it may be stronger. I can’t say for sure because I’ve only ever used imitation.
  6. You can skip the drizzle if you want, but it makes the cupcakes prettier and adds an extra touch of flavor.

French Toast Cupcakes w/ Maple Buttercream and Maple-Cinnamon Drizzle

By The Smart Cookie Cook
Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes:
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

  • 4 cups + 2 tablespoons cake flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 3 teaspoons imitation maple extract
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken
  • For the struesel swirl:
  • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon imitation maple extract

For the Maple Buttercream:
Note: Double if piping the frosting!

  • 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 5 teaspoons (1 tbsp. + 2 tsp.) imitation maple extract
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream

For the Maple-Cinnamon Drizzle:

  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup cinnamon chips

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners. Set aside.
  2. Make the Cupcakes: Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla and maple extract. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture will look curdled). Add flour mixture in three batches, mixing until each addition is just incorporated and batter is free of lumps.
  3. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, and maple extract until well combined. Set aside.
  4. Using a ladle or ice cream scoop, pour batter into each lined muffin cup (2/3-3/4 full). Then crumble a generous teaspoon of the brown sugar mixture on top of each cupcake. Use a butter knife to swirl it in gently, but do not over mix it.
  5. Bake cupcakes for 15-20 minutes or until the edges are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes then carefully remove cupcakes from trays and transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.
  6. Make the Maple Buttercream (NOTE: you will need to make a double batch if you’re piping on the frosting): In a standing mixer, beat together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes until nice and fluffy.
  7. Add vanilla, maple extract, cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon of cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream or powdered sugar if necessary to reach desired consistency.
  8. Make the Maple-Cinnamon Drizzle: In a small saucepan over low heat, melt together syrup and cinnamon chips, whisking constantly, until smooth. Remove from heat and let cool slightly while you frost the cupcakes.
  9. Pipe on the frosting using a piping bag or fill a large ziplock bag with frosting and cut off the bottom corner to create a makeshift pastry bag. You can also just spread the icing on with a knife; up to you!
  10. When Maple Drizzle is room temperature, pour into a plastic condiment dispenser and drizzle over cupcakes. If you don’t have a plastic condiment dispenser, then a fork works just as well.
  11. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days, letting the cupcakes come to room temperature before eating. Enjoy!

Baked Fontina Dip

This one’s for all the foodies who have ever asked, “Is it socially acceptable to consume mounds of melted cheese and nothing more?” It’s time to fess up; many of us desire to do just that. The good news is, you finally can.

You see, the trick is to be crafty about it. If you melt down a hunk of cheddar and stuff your face into it, you’ll probably get some judgmental looks and sideways glances. However, if you melt together Fontina with olive oil, garlic, and an array of fresh, flavorful herbs, then you’ve got yourself a dip, and dip is 100% accepted by society (…unless it has people it. As Johnny Depp so eloquently points out in Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, cannibalism is “frowned upon in most societies”).

This Baked Fontina Dip is delightfully deceiving. It tastes and looks like some fancy fondue, when in all actuality, it’s three simple ingredients melted into cheesy bliss. It doesn’t get much easier than this, nor does it get more indulgent. A dip that’s practically pure cheese is the ultimate way to feed your soul. All you need is a good hunk of bread, and you’re ready to go to town.

If ooey, gooey, melty* cheese sounds good to you, then you can’t pass up this delicious dip. It has tons of flavor from the fresh herbs and garlic, mimicking fondues and dips from the fanciest of Italian restaurants. The best part is, you don’t have to go out to a fancy Italian restaurant to eat it. You don’t even have to exert a significant amount of effort; just pop it in the oven and bake, then get ready to start dipping.

A Few Tips Before You Get Cooking:

  1. I’m going to be honest: you must keep this dip warm in order for it to remain dippable.* When it starts to cool, it immediately begins to re-solidify, like most fondues do. I recommend serving it in a fondue pot or some other heated serving dish. If you don’t have either of these things, then eat fast!
  2. I adore sourdough bread for dipping in this. You could also do Italian bread or veggies. I don’t recommend crackers or chips though because they won’t hold up to the dip.
  3. If you aren’t into the herbs I used, basil or parsley would be delicious substitutions.
  4. This makes A LOT of dip, so I cut it in half for you. Trust me, you’ll be glad. Unless you’re feeding an army, you don’t need all that cheese!
  5. Got leftovers? Make it into a grilled cheese!

Baked Fontina
Adapted from Smells Like Home; originally adapted from How Easy is That? by Ina Garten

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 lb Italian fontina, rind removed and cubed into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

  1. Adjust top rack of the oven so that it sits about 5 inches under the broiler unit. Preheat broiler.
  2. Spread cheese out in the bottom of a cast iron pan or casserole dish.  Drizzle olive oil over the cheese.  Mix together the garlic and herbs in a small bowl and sprinkle the mixture evenly over the cheese.  Sprinkle salt and pepper over the top of the cheese.
  3. Bake for 6 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and melted through.  Carefully remove the pan from the oven and set it on a heatproof surface – the pan will be hot!  Serve immediately with bread for dipping.

*Melty – (adj) Melted; a term often used to describe foods that are ooey gooey.

*Dippable – (adj) Having the ideal texture for dipping.